it synthesis

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ABSTRACT OF THESIS

IT SYNTHESIS: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO IMPROVING THE SUCCESS RATE OF IT INITIATIVES

IN SMALL TO MEDUIM SIZED COMPANIES

Information Technology initiatives continue to challenge companies, financially and

organizationally, resulting in out-of-scope and costly initiatives that deliver little measureable

business value back to the organization. This trend has led to a well-defined gap between

business and technology resulting in misguided and inefficient operations. In this qualitative

study, four research questions guided my data collection and analysis: why do technology

initiatives present institutional challenges, who is involved in determining the business need

and technology selection, how is the ROI of a technology initiative determined and is the

technology department seen as a strategic business unit and included in designing, developing

and driving strategic initiatives. Analysis of data collected for this study yielded four main

themes: a lack of leadership, including the misalignment of business and technology objectives

and goals; a lack of change management; an inability to value IT initiatives, and a lack of general

business knowledge among IT professionals. Together, these themes raise critical implications

for understanding the business-technology gap. I offer recommendations and a framework,

which I refer to as an IT Optimized Business Approach, and I describe how forward-thinking

business methodologies can help address this gap, thus helping companies develop defensible

IT initiatives that deliver business value back to the enterprise.

IT SYNTHESIS 2

IT SYNTHESIS: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO IMPROVING THE SUCCESS RATE OF IT

INITIATIVES IN SMALL TO MEDUIM SIZED COMPANIES

By

Lewis Howell

__________________________

Director of Thesis

__________________ (Date)

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THESIS

Lewis Howell

Concordia University

2010

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IT SYNTHESIS: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO IMPROVING THE SUCCESS RATE OF IT INITIATIVES

IN SMALL TO MEDUIM SIZED COMPANIES

____________________________________

THESIS

____________________________________

A thesis submitted in partial

fulfillment of the requirement

for the degree of Masters of Business Administration

at Concordia University

By

Lewis Howell

Bend, Oregon

Director: Dr. Ann Widmer

2010

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MASTERS THESIS PAPER

I authorize the Concordia University Libraries

to reproduce this thesis in

whole or in part for purposes of research.

Signed: _____________________

Dated: ______________________

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank all of the MBA professors at Concordia for helping me along this

journey by providing new insight and a foundation for better understanding the business

environment. I offer special thanks and gratitude to Ann Widmer for her support and wisdom in

this final stage of my graduate work. I would like to thank the Central Oregon technology

community for their participation in the survey. I would also like to thank all of the interviewees

and appreciate their candor in discussing this very interesting topic. I would like to thank my co-

workers for allowing me to continue to ask questions, even when it appeared that we had

exhausted the topic, and for introducing me to key resources that allowed me to proceed with

this journey. I would like to thank all of my past and current clients, as each one has and

continues to be an influence on my consulting practice. I would like to thank my current

employer, Cinetix Solutions, for allowing me to conduct this journey in parallel with my current

duties at the organization. On a more personal note, I want to thank my dad for his unending

entrepreneurial spirit and encouragement to ask the questions. I would like to thank my

children, Marly and Finnegan, for their patience as I worked for hours on end with the promise

to play pirates soon! Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Amy: this thesis would not have

been possible without her help and guidance.

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List of Figures

Figure 1. Characterization of the IT function ..............................................................................................32 Figure 2. Frequency of IT and HR collaboration on adoption strategies.....................................................33 Figure 3. Characterization of IT function within corporate strategy...........................................................34 Figure 4. IT consultation with regards to new systems...............................................................................35 Figure 5. Do you have an Enterprise Architecture ......................................................................................36 Figure 6. IT consultation with regards to new systems...............................................................................37 Figure 7. Measurement of ROI ....................................................................................................................38 Figure 8: Strategic Goal, Governance, IT Initiative.....................................................................................43 Figure 9: Impact of change..........................................................................................................................44 Figure 10: Introducing Incremental Change................................................................................................45 Figure 11: Success Factors...........................................................................................................................46 Figure 12: Valuations Questions .................................................................................................................48

IT SYNTHESIS 9

Table of Contents Acknowledgements.......................................................................................................................................7

List of Figures.................................................................................................................................................8

Introduction.................................................................................................................................................10

Conceptual Framework ...............................................................................................................................12

Methods ......................................................................................................................................................16

Interviews ................................................................................................................................................18

Interview #1 Financial Services Association – CIO/IT Managers.........................................................19

Interview #2 Healthcare Information Technology - CIO. ....................................................................19

Interview #3 Physicians’ Clinic Information Technology - CEO. ..........................................................21

Interview #4 Surgery Center Information Technology – IT Manager..................................................22

Interview #5 Manufacturing Technology - CIO. ..................................................................................23

Survey ......................................................................................................................................................23

Findings .......................................................................................................................................................25

Interviews ................................................................................................................................................25

Interview #1 Financial Services Association – CIO/IT Manager. .........................................................25

Interview #2 Healthcare Information Technology - CIO. ....................................................................26

Interview #3 Physicians’ Clinic Information Technology - CEO. ..........................................................28

Interview #4 Surgery Center Information Technology – IT Manager..................................................29

Interview #5 Manufacturing Technology - CIO. ..................................................................................30

Survey ......................................................................................................................................................31

Themes ....................................................................................................................................................38

Implications .................................................................................................................................................40

Summary .....................................................................................................................................................52

Appendix A ..................................................................................................................................................54

Appendix B ..................................................................................................................................................56

References...................................................................................................................................................60

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Introduction

Based on the current emphases in business literature on leadership and change

management, organizational development and workforce management—including dramatic

shifts in technological innovation—it seems reasonable to assume that information technology

initiatives would be streamlined into the organization. On the contrary, given current research

and perspectives in these areas (e.g., Christensen, 2006; Kotter, 1990, 2007; Ulrich, Zenger &

Smallwood, 1999; Ulrich, Brockbank, Johnson, Sandholtz, & Younger, 2008; Wallace and Trinka,

2007), the assumption that technology initiatives are streamlined into the organization, like

mission critical organizational processes, requires closer examination. Based on this prior work,

it is evident that technology initiatives tend to be uninformed, disconnected, out of scope and

costly–presenting an institutional challenge for most organizations. In fact, it is arguable

whether any quantitative or qualitative value is being realized from these technology

investments. Keen (1997) holds that IT initiatives fail to deliver results even with tremendous

investment and innovative solutions. However, this is not due to ineffective solutions or bad

technology. Rather, it is due to a disconnect between business strategy, organizational

development and IT – a gap that leads to ineffective execution and operational inefficiencies. In

Enterprise Architecture as Strategy, Ross, Weill and Robertson (2006) promote the idea that

companies that fail to bridge this gap are less agile and less competitive. In today’s world of

mergers, acquisitions, globalization and a rapidly changing business landscape, it is not an

option to overlook the potential competitive advantages that can be realized from improving

this capability. This well-defined gap can be solved by synthesizing people, process and

technology into a capability and competency through an integrated approach that incorporates

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traditional business methodologies, including change management strategies, to help identify,

deploy and manage successful technology initiatives.

This paper is intended for an audience of business and technology professionals

interested in developing a cohesive approach to integrating business with technology.

Throughout this paper I use Information Technology (IT) and Information Systems (IS)

synonymously. While there are minute differences between the two, they are used

interchangeably within the industry, and the differences are circumstantial. In their recent CIO

Study IBM (2009) stated that “IT functions represent the lifeblood of most businesses (p. 9)”

reminding us that IT is integral to the operational success of the organization. Leadership roles

in IT consist of the CIO, IT Manager and/or the Director of IT. Organizations tend to have at

least an IT manager and a CIO if they are larger than 500 employees. Information Technology

encompasses applications, software, hardware, data, and the resources required to support the

systems used to translate inputs into revenue (Christensen, 2003). Examples of such initiatives

include the implementation of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, Human

Resources Information System (HRIS), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application,

Electronic Health Records (EHR) system, Enterprise content management (ECM) system or even

a Point of Sale (POS) system or Accounting application. On this note, Ulrich et al. (2008) and

Younger promote the idea that an HRIS system can assists HR develop key processes,

connecting people and information in ways that directly translate into business success. While

the above is not an exhaustive list, this should give the reader an understanding of the breadth,

scope and importance of what this paper addresses–the deployment of technology initiatives in

support of business operations.

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Conceptual Framework

The reliance of business on information systems has never been greater, yet it continues

to be a pain point and challenge for most companies: the challenges are as wide as they are

deep. The challenges are wide in that they impact the whole organization, operationally, and

deeper in that they touch each revenue driving activity within the organization. Some

technology initiatives, such as, a migration from one storage or file system to another are

circumstantial and transparent to the employee or the customer. In this discourse I focus on

substantial technology initiatives that include EHR, CRM, ERP and enterprise collaborations

systems and applications. These applications represent typical initiatives that help translate

inputs and processes into revenues and require substantial investment in time and resources.

The significance of this work rests in its theoretical connections with prior work in the area of

successful business theories. Namely, successful companies share common characteristics with

respect to how they manage, operate and execute. My work has been largely influenced by

leadership and change management strategies, organizational development practices and

current workforce management theories.

In their research, Ross et al. (2006) found that companies that fail to adopt technologies

that connect people and process lose their competitive edge and subsequently lose market

share. They promote the idea that organizations that fail to develop a platform for execution

(series of centralized and integrated applications) will fail to grow revenues, which leaves the

organization vulnerable to competitors and disruption. Similarly, Christensen (2003) points out

that business suffer a similar vulnerability when they fail to develop their internal resources

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(people) and capabilities (unique and defensible processes). In response, many organizations

tend to opt for technological change based upon industry trend or customer demand.

Healthcare is a sector that is currently experiencing challenges associated with

transformational technological change. A Federal incentive plan has motivated the healthcare

industry to transition to electronic health records (EHR) systems within the next few years.

Backed by strong financial incentives, hospitals and physician’s practices are mobilizing their IT

departments to deploy EHR systems. This reactive approach has resulted in many failed

implementations and led to a reduction in the quality of care, high employee turnover and a

loss of revenue. In Healthcare, this has become the norm and IT is left with the baggage and the

blame. This is not an isolated case and spans across all ERP and CRM implementations.

Krigsman (2009) notes that most of the CRM implementations over the past few years have

failed with the primary blame on the tools and technology –not disconnected and uninformed

efforts. In their timely novel, Ross and Weill note that if “IT is not a strategic asset, IT is a

strategic liability (Weill & Ross, 2009, pp. Loc 180-84).”

Good leadership and management are imperative to the success of an organization and

the catalyst for change. However, Kotter (1990) notes that leaders and managers serve

fundamentally different roles within the organization –both necessary but fundamentally

different. He holds that leaders need to focus on change and direction while managers deal

with the complexity of the organization. Put a different way, leaders focus on the “what” while

managers focus on the “how.” In today’s economy, where products and services are sourced

globally and delivered locally, competition is fierce requiring companies to get to market fast

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and efficiently with the right balance of leadership and management. Leaders not only set

direction but also prepare the organization for change distributing the responsibility across the

leadership team (Ancona, 2008). Change is necessary in all companies, especially environments

where new innovations or technological breakthroughs can lead to increasing returns. Creating

a culture of change becomes mandatory and Kotter (2007) promotes eight steps to

transforming the organization: establishing a sense of urgency, forming a powerful guiding

coalition, creating a vision, communicating the vision, empowering others to act on the vision,

planning for and creating short term wins, consolidating improvements and producing still

more change and institutionalizing new approaches. It is through these eight steps that leaders

can effectively enact and re-enact change throughout their organization –creating a culture of

change. However, people are at the heart of all change efforts, and the people and employees

determine if the change aligns with their goals, aspirations and direction. Wallace and Trinka

(2007) point out that people do not mind change: they mind “being changed” (p. 73). Leaders

must focus on individual change, specifically, how the organization will address personal change

–the “what’s in it for me.” I am not insinuating that we focus our time and energies on one-to-

one personal change relationships, but rather, developing organizational cultures that reflect

the personal needs of the employees and the company.

The individual employee is an integral part of the whole. It is up to the leaders and

managers to develop organizations that operate in harmony with business goals – service for a

profit at a risk. A significant amount of business literature has focused on developing the

organization. Ulrich, Zenger and Smallwood (1999) stress that developing people into

organizations, where the whole is greatly more effective than the sum of the individual

IT SYNTHESIS 15

resources is key to the success of the enterprise. In that reasoning, organizational development

requires leadership to develop internal cultures that reflect the mission and vision of the

organization. The result is an organizational culture that knows what is important, how to make

decisions and what change or initiatives are important to the organization (Christensen, 2003).

This organizational culture reflects the values, beliefs, and behaviors of the leaders and

managers (Wallace & Trinka, 2007). These organizational capabilities deliver consistent and

sustainable results (Ulrich et al., 2009).

Managing people and driving change throughout the organization requires effective

leadership and a clear organizational development effort. To deliver on this framework requires

a significant amount of time and energy, including dedicated resources to help train, monitor

and measure the results. Human Resources (HR), specifically, Workforce Management (WM),

has emerged as the natural catalyst for helping develop this environment. The traditional role

of HR has consisted of administering to the needs of the employee, from pay role and benefits

processing to the facilitation of employee rights and responsibilities. Given HR’s intimate

knowledge of the employee, Ulrich et al (2008) notes that HR is well positioned to redefine

their traditional HR role into one that helps deliver on higher value activities, such as change

management, strategy execution and organizational development. Ulrich et al move HR into

four primary roles: strategic partner, administrative expert, employee champion and change

agent. These new HR roles become the vehicle for driving strategic efforts, through trainings

and employee development, driving change via well-choreographed efforts between leadership

and management, and helping ensure the alignment between the employee and the

organization.

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The current study is an attempt to understand why technology initiatives continue to

have a profound impact on the enterprise, financially and operationally. The continual failure of

IT initiatives has led to a devaluing of IT services and the idea that IT doesn’t matter (Carr,

2003). Carr (2003) wrote a compelling article on this topic concluding that investment in IT does

not result in clear competitive advantages. In fact, he promotes the idea that IT, in its current

form will cease to exist. Considering the breadth of the problem, I was interested as to why

such an integral part of the organization continues to be a challenge for the majority of

organizations. These issues prompted me to ask four targeted questions of technology leaders

and executives:

• Why do technology initiatives present institutional challenges?

• Who is involved in determining the business need and technology selection?

• How is the ROI of a technology initiative determined?

• Is the technology department seen as a strategic business unit and included in

designing, developing and driving strategic initiatives?

These research questions helped me frame and anchor my discussions and research. It

was through investigating these questions that I was able to develop a new understanding of

the dynamics associated with technology initiatives, their role in the organization and the

qualities characterizing successful and unsuccessful initiatives.

Methods

My research methods for this project consisted of targeted interviews and surveys.

Combined, these resources provided key insight into the problem and a dynamic data set to

IT SYNTHESIS 17

analyze. I interviewed leadership from healthcare, banking and manufacturing –industries

where IT systems are mission critical to the success of the organization; from quality of care, to

supply chain and distribution to financial intelligence. Each of these individuals had at least 20

years of experience identifying, deploying and supporting business technology initiatives. In

addition to these common traits, each leader had a unique set of experiences and standard

practices for driving technology initiatives within their organization. The interviewees consisted

of CIO’s, IT managers and CEO’s of small to medium sized enterprises. In some cases, these

interviews led me in different and unique directions, including research from additional

sources, including a detour into Lean Six Sigma. The premise of Lean Six Sigma is to drive out

inefficiencies through measurable and action oriented speed and quality initiatives (George,

Rowlands, & Kastle, 2004). Surveys were utilized before group interviews and as a tool to

collect information from a broader audience. Before group interviews, I was able to capture a

current state understanding of their unique environment, their role within the organization and

their aptitude for managing technological change within the organization. This helped guide the

conversation while at the same time providing valuable information for substantiating my

findings. The survey also allowed me to poll a much larger audience, giving me a broader view

of technology initiatives across industries. Current research, books and articles helped evolve

my thinking and greatly enhanced my ability to analyze the results –from Ulrich to Hubbard and

CIO studies from IBM to Ross, Weill and Robertson. The combination of interviews, surveys and

speaking engagements provided a unique look into an issue that is tough to understand and

quantify. However, after analysis I was able to develop a unique framework and integrated

approach for developing successful technology initiatives.

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In the next four sections, I outline each interview in a mini case study format. Each

interview follows a narrative format, outlining the culture of the organization, the technological

environment and challenges to date.

Interviews�

I conducted one group interview and four individual interviews. In each setting I

presented questions in a conversational format. I logged interviews in the project notebook for

subsequent analysis. Select questions included the following prompts (please see Appendix A

for protocol):

• What is your title?

• What is the role of technology, specifically information systems within your company?

• What is the general perception of technology within your organization?

• Is your department seen as a strategic business unit?

• How do you determine the IT initiatives to execute?

• How do you measure the success of a technology initiative?

• Does workforce management (HR) play a key role in developing user adoption

strategies?

• How do you measure the ROI of a technology initiative?

The interviews evolved into discussions surrounding the deployment of technology initiatives

and associated outcomes. In one case, a CIO explored three such deployments across 3

different companies.

IT SYNTHESIS 19

Interview #1 Financial Services Association – CIO/IT Managers. As part of a

speaker lineup, I had the opportunity to conduct a group discussion with a statewide Financial

Services Association on Information Technology initiatives. This forum lasted an hour, with one

hour Q/A following the presentation. Before the meeting, I was given the opportunity to send

out a survey, designed to develop a current state understanding of the group and to capture

relevant, industry specific information. The group conversation centered on the benefits

associated with key information technology initiatives, including business process automation

strategies where key managers could extract a new data set that could lead to key business

insight. An example of such an application, or process, would include a call tracking application

that captured the voice of the customer; problems, concerns and even positive experiences and

product enhancement requests. By consolidating this information in one place management

could better understand their customer and validate their strategy and course of action. This

group conversation led to some interesting findings.

Interview #2 Healthcare Information Technology - CIO. Introduced through a

colleague in the technology sector, I spoke with a CIO of a successful healthcare company in the

southwest who successfully managed large scale technology initiatives across the healthcare

industry. In our conversation, she described three different initiatives, each of which she was

the CIO working directly with the executive team and associated stakeholders. Each initiative

represented a paradigm shift in operations for each of the companies discussed, and each

experienced unique challenges and results.

IT SYNTHESIS 20

At each organization, she was CIO and tasked with conducting large scale Electronic

Healthcare Records (EHR) implementations. Like many healthcare organizations, these hospitals

used information technology to connect individuals, secure data and manage financial data.

Patient data and charts were stored in paper form and processes were primarily paper based

and, in some cases, tracked electronically. This change represented a paradigm shift from

current business operations.

In Company A, the CIO transitioned into an organization that reflected the current state of

many healthcare organizations; legacy systems and paper driven processes. However, this

organization was different in that leadership had identified a business need to move to an EHR,

and the required investment, in capital and resources, to make it a reality. The CIO developed a

budget, timeframe and a strategic team to drive and manage the efforts –pulling from world

renowned consulting firms. This implementation was supported from the top and the CIO was

empowered with the resources to drive the change throughout the organization. This was a

highly successful implementation.

After the successful deployment and integration at Company A, the CIO moved to a

smaller hospital (Company B) where they required similar transformative change. Company B

was a regional non-profit healthcare organization. At this organization, the CIO was part of a

cross functional team tasked with the selection, implementation and integration of an EHR

solution. While she was part of a well-balanced cross functional team, the system selection

decision was driven from the top and not upon the integration or long term benefits of the

solution. System selection was driven by external factors that failed to map to internal business

IT SYNTHESIS 21

requirements (organizational), including the long term strategy of the organization. The CIO

was tasked with the development, integration and deployment of the solution. EHR’s are

frameworks, or rather, building blocks, with which to develop a custom healthcare solution.

This framework is designed to wrap around unique business requirements and processes,

requiring a massive amount of collaboration across the organization to develop an integrated

platform of services. As described by the CIO, this effort challenged the organization and

ultimately led to a pause in deployment. Many of the challenges were attributed to wrong

motivations and an inability to get buy-in horizontally and vertically across the organization. At

the end of the day, millions of dollars later, the initiative failed.

At Company C, the CIO was tasked with a similar task, deploying a comprehensive EHR

platform for a large metropolitan hospital in the Southwest. Armed with her experiences from

two other implementations, the CIO commenced with developing a defensible ROI within the

organization to map a quantifiable return back to the proposed efforts. Together, we reviewed

the ROI’s and there were strong financials to back-up each line item, however, they were fairly

soft –meaning that the numbers were estimates and not backed by defensible data. The reason

for this was no current state data, or rather hard data that could be verified, tested and

measured moving forward. This is not uncommon and is a pain point for a lot of proposed

technology initiatives. The CIO was in a new situation, in the beginning of the process and

challenged by developing a defensible ROI.

Interview #3 Physicians’ Clinic Information Technology - CEO. A physicians’

clinic was tasked with hiring a new CEO to help them take the next steps by improving

IT SYNTHESIS 22

performance and initiating the implementation of an EHR. The new CEO stated that his biggest

goal over the next three years was the implementation the EHR. The time horizon seemed out

of proportion to the benefits associated with the immediate implementation and we had a

conversation on the topic. His response was that the organization was not prepared for the

amount of change introduced by an EHR, no matter the proposed benefits. In fact, he stated

that the transition to an EHR starts years before the implementation. His primary goal was to

introduce change into the organization immediately. He began by encouraging people to

change their work environment to promote efficiencies, “Don’t like the cart there? Let’s move

it.” He noted that the technological change would not be an issue once he built an

organizational culture of change. A culture of change would enable the organization to alleviate

many of the challenges associated with the paradigm shift introduced by an EHR and a change

in the operating model. This mature and innovative perspective was the result of leading

challenging EHR efforts for much larger change resistant organizations.

Interview #4 Surgery Center Information Technology – IT Manager. At the time

of the interview, this large surgery center was undergoing an EHR implementation driven by an

internal project manager and Director of IT. It was good timing as they were in the middle of

the implementation with good visibility into the current status. The Director of IT noted that the

implementation was consuming a lot of resources and taking a lot of time to complete. Of

particular note was the amount of custom development required to uplift the EHR to a point

that it was useable within the organization. After a significant amount of effort and a lot of

internal challenges, the platform was released into production in a phased approach. Success to

date was tough to determine, and the Director of IT stated that they lacked clear visibility into

IT SYNTHESIS 23

user adoption, results and outcomes. He noted that one of the toughest challenges was getting

the key stakeholders (physicians) to utilize the software. From the conversation, it was evident

that the information systems team saw the implementation as a challenge, but surmountable.

However, what they found was a transformative change effort that was very difficult to manage

and support.

Interview #5 Manufacturing Technology - CIO. M&A manufacturing is a large

organization that recently underwent a major overhaul of their systems and software. The

current CIO was intimately involved in the planning and the deployment of the effort. He noted

that the majority of their challenges could be mapped back to systemic change within the

organization –changes that impacted how people conducted day to day operations. Considering

that this organization was currently on the brink of identifying a new ERP and POS system, I

asked what he felt the most challenging part of the process would be. Before answering the

question he noted that all initiatives, whether IT or not, mapped back to strategic objectives.

His point was well taken in that if the initiative had been selected, it would receive the

necessary resources to be driven throughout to fruition.

Survey�

The second method for collecting data was through a survey submitted to a financial

service association and a local community of Information Technology professionals. The Tech

Survey (See Appendix B for complete survey) was intended for an audience of IT Directors and

consisted of 10 targeted questions. Tied to the guiding research questions, the Tech Survey was

designed to help better understand institutional challenges.

IT SYNTHESIS 24

To better understand the research question, “Why do technology initiatives present

institutional challenges” I included specific survey items assessing strategic alignment,

consultative role and integrated approach –including an Enterprise Architecture. There are two

targeted questions used to better understand the gap.

• How would you characterize the IT function?

• Is it common for IT to work in conjunction with HR/Workforce Management to develop

user adoption strategies when deploying a new technology?

To better understand “Who is involved in determining the business need and

technology selection?” I asked “Is the IT function consulted before new systems are identified,

purchased and implemented?” While this question also aligns with corporate strategic efforts it

also helps us better understand the role that IT plays in understanding how the technology will

fit in the current operating environment – integrated, siloed, centralized or decentralized.

To better understand “How is the ROI of a technology initiative determined?” I posed

the survey question “How do you measure the proposed ROI of a technology initiative?”

To get at the research question, “Is the technology department seen as a strategic

business unit and included in designing, developing and driving strategic initiatives?” I asked

respondents to consider 3 survey questions:

• How would you characterize the IT function within the corporate strategy of your

company?

IT SYNTHESIS 25

• Is the IT function consulted before new systems are identified, purchased and

implemented?

• Do you have an Enterprise Architecture (EA)?

To conclude data collection, I reviewed notes and interview summaries with an eye

toward common trends and unique experiences. Through a recursive process of applying

guiding research questions to the data, several themes emerged. In the following section I

discuss these findings before raising critical implications for these themes.

Findings

Interviews�

Each interview provided insight into the integration of technology into the organization.

In this section, I present findings from each of the interviews.

Interview #1 Financial Services Association – CIO/IT Manager. All participants were

interested in developing successful technology initiatives, including business process

automation strategies; however, many were challenged by their change adverse cultures,

budgets and executive level buy-in. These immediate hurdles presented a large issue to the

technology professionals and represented institutional challenge for the financial services

industry. On a similar note, while systems were in place to manage customer deposits and

transactions, all technology was designed to track paper processes and events. While there was

a compelling value proposition to develop well defined and consistent technology improvement

strategies, many participants felt that they lacked the language to promote such strategic

initiatives. It should be noted that some of the companies had a technology problem, in that

IT SYNTHESIS 26

they did not have the systems in place to support new process improvement strategies, such as

electronic forms or enterprise content management. Considering that the majority of the

participants lacked the building blocks or rather what Ross, Weill and Robertson (2006) would

call an Enterprise Architecture (EA) to support these initiatives, the conversation evolved into a

discussion surrounding return on investment (ROI) –or rather “how to get there.” For many,

they felt that if they had a way to measure the proposed financial success of their initiative they

could get the buyoff needed to proceed with bigger and more substantial efforts. On a similar

note, a high percentage of all participants lacked a clear vision of how their department fit

within the strategic fold of the company.

In summary, the financial services companies, while mature, were averse to change and

lacked a strong connection between their business strategy and technology. On that note, the

technologists admitted that they lacked the language required to have a business conversation,

or rather a conversation centered on process improvements strategies that would result in

operational efficiencies.

Interview #2 Healthcare Information Technology - CIO. At Company A, the CIO was

positioned for success. The EHR initiative was mapped to the company’s strategic objectives

and the change was driven and supported from the top. Upon reflection, the following led to

the success of the initiative:

• IT seen as a strategic business unit

• Clear recognition of the long term value

IT SYNTHESIS 27

• Clear success factors - Understanding of how the initiative mapped back to patient care

and quality of care

• Leadership’s involvement in the day to day evangelization of the tools, their fit within

the organization and what it meant to each and every employee within the organization

• Change management initiatives driven by people centered teams combined with teams

dedicated to developing long term buy-in across the enterprise – clear understanding of

what she referred to as the WIIFM (What’s in it for me)

• Strong project PR

• Mapping the initiative’s success back to a bonus structure

At company B, the CIO was challenged by an organization and board that recognized the

need for change, but mismanaged the impact and required efforts that it would have on

management, the employees and the organization. The CIO noted a misinformed technology

selection process and inability of the executive team to grasp the transformative nature of the

initiative. The CIO and an additional stakeholder noted the following challenges in the IT

initiative:

• Top down command and control approach (rip, replace and deploy)

• Technology seen as necessary change, not a tool to enhance services or improve the

quality of care

• Disconnection between business and technology leadership

• Little understanding of how the organization would respond to change

• No change management

IT SYNTHESIS 28

• No current state data leading to no effective way to measure success

• No attempt at measuring outcomes or rather no time nor predetermined checkpoints

At Company C, the CIO moved back into a position of defining the ROI for an EHR

implementation. She was challenged by a similar change adverse culture combined with little to

no current state, or quantifiable data of their operational environment. Such data might include

the amount of time required for patient check-in, including the associated processes required

to mobilize staff. This data would assist in determining how an electronic process might

promote efficiencies (automated alerts and workflows) to promote timely and accurate service.

There is a tangible value to this information. The delta or rather changes, might in fact

represent a 20% decrease in the amount of time required to get a patient serviced. The results

would include a satisfied patient, more accurate information and more informed diagnosis. The

CIO noted that it was going to take a bit of work to collect this data. However, her current

strategy reflected lessons learned from previous hospitals, including a methodical approach to

developing a culture of change. In fact she appeared to have slowed her approach and was

focusing on a crawl-walk-run approach.

Interview #3 Physicians’ Clinic Information Technology - CEO. The CEO introduced a

lot of very interesting concepts and ideas that might help in answering the outstanding

question of bridging the business/technology gap. The focus on change was very compelling,

and connected back to initiatives led by the Case Study #2 CIO. One of the most interesting

concepts was the use of Lean Six Sigma. While used in manufacturing for over 20 years, this

concept has just recently been making its way into service oriented industries; lending itself to

IT SYNTHESIS 29

helping quantify the success of change management initiatives (George, Rowlands, & Kastle,

2004). This CEO convinced me that change management was crucial to the success of any

technology initiative and that creating a culture of change was required before introducing an

operational change.

Interview #4 Surgery Center Information Technology – IT Manager. This interview

explored an interesting combination of challenges driven by the introduction of transformative

change though the introduction of an EHR. A technology designed to streamline business

processes, improve revenue cycle and patient care –was not delivering as promised, by neither

the vendor nor IT. The doctors (key stakeholders) perceived that they were buying a piece of

software that would wrap around their operating model, when in reality they were changing

the foundation of their practice and how they serviced patients. Of particular interest was the

assumption that the technology would deliver the results, not the people. In fact, this idea

overshadowed the initiative and led to the devaluing of the technological effort. The doctors,

who were also the board of directors, saw the implementation as a necessity and helped drive

the effort from the top down. While there was an understanding of potential efficiencies, like

the reduction in headcount (below the line cost reductions), there appeared to be no tangible

connection between improved patient care or quality of care and revenue. Nor was there any

understanding of how the EHR would change the way they serviced their patients. Ultimately,

adoption of the technology was a challenge, especially for the doctors, who in some cases had

difficulty using and integrating the tools into their practice.

IT SYNTHESIS 30

Interview #5 Manufacturing Technology - CIO. This CIO was very much aligned with the

Case Study #2 CIO in that they were both operating from the perspective of complete executive

level buy in and strong user integration strategies. Different than other interviewees, many of

the initiatives described by this CIO were methodically laid out and long term in nature with a

standardized approach. On that note, the time horizon was generally longer than normal, 3+/-

years, and included extensive planning. The well-defined implementation process appeared to

deliver predictable, successful, results. When asked about ROI, the CIO responded that there

was not one or rather, no good way of determining a real ROI. From the conversation, I

captured the following areas of importance:

• Creating a cross functional technology selection team to be intimately involved in

identifying a comprehensive solution

• Identifying the best internal talent to help configure and optimize the system

• Training strategies designed to drive adoption

• Creating a bonus structure that mapped back to effective use and implementation of

the system

• Rewarding employees for their use and integration of the tools – “putting them on a

pedestal” for the rest of the company to observe and learn from

• Bringing in experts, throughout the process, to ensure that they received the most

innovative solutions available

IT SYNTHESIS 31

Survey�Of the 13 respondents, which included professionals in healthcare, banking,

communications, state and local government and manufacturing, 100% answered all survey

questions.

To better understand the research question, “Why do technology initiatives present

institutional challenges” we have to consider all questions, including strategic alignment,

consultative role and integrated approach –including an Enterprise Architecture. However,

there are two targeted questions used to better understand the gap.

• How would you characterize the IT function?

• Is it common for IT to work in conjunction with HR/Workforce Management to develop

user adoption strategies when deploying a new technology?

To better understand the nature of the technology units I asked respondents to consider

“How would you characterize the IT function?” The goal of this question was to understand the

general nature of the IT function. As can be seen in Figure 1, the vast majority responded that IT

was split between a reactive and proactive approach. These results led me to conclude that the

majority of the respondents operated in a reactive mode, leveraging proactive methods

(monitoring, trouble ticket systems). This conclusion is founded on the logic that a proactive

state would in fact not overlap with reactive behavior.

IT SYNTHESIS 32

Figure 1. Characterization of the IT function

Building upon this line of thought, it is important to understand the alignment between

the technology function and HR/ workforce management. The idea is to get visibility into

collaboration across business units and how committed the organization is to promoting an

integrated approach. As can be seen in Figure 2, the majority of the respondents worked in

conjunction with HR or workforce management, sometimes or on a periodic basis. These results

indicate that there are conversations and collaboration happening between the technology

department and business units, however, it is tough to determine the specific nature of these

conversations or their impact on the success of the initiative.

IT SYNTHESIS 33

Figure 2. Frequency of IT and HR collaboration on adoption strategies

To get at the question, “Is the technology department seen as a strategic business unit

and included in designing, developing and driving strategic initiatives?” I asked respondents to

consider 3 questions:

• How would you characterize the IT function within the corporate strategy of your

company?

• Is the IT function consulted before new systems are identified, purchased and

implemented?

• Do you have an Enterprise Architecture (EA)?

IT SYNTHESIS 34

In response to “How would you characterize the IT function within the corporate

strategy of your company?” Figure 3 shows that 30% of the respondents responded as closely

aligned, with 61.5% Cooperative Partners, 0% limited involvement and 7.7% unrelated. Closely

aligned represented those that felt that the technology department was integral to the

business or rather strategically aligned. Cooperative partners represented those that felt that

they were project partners and key stakeholders in the initiative. Limited involvement

represented those that felt isolated and disconnected from the organization. Unrelated

represents a population that feels that technology is not a business driver.

Figure 3. Characterization of IT function within corporate strategy

IT SYNTHESIS 35

To better understand the consultative role of IT within the organization, I asked

respondents to consider, “Is the IT function consulted before new systems are identified,

purchased and implemented?” Noted in Figure 4, that majority of the respondents were split

between always and most of the time.

Figure 4. IT consultation with regards to new systems

The third and final question in this series, “Do you have an Enterprise Architecture

(EA)?” was intended to develop a sense of the progressive nature of those polled. The idea was

to flush out those that were intimately involved in developing what we will refer to as a

IT SYNTHESIS 36

platform for execution and those that were not. As can be seen in Figure 5, 46.2% responded

“yes”, 23.1 “no” with 30.8 “not sure.”

Figure 5. Do you have an Enterprise Architecture

To better understand “Who is involved in determining the business need and

technology selection?” I asked “Is the IT function consulted before new systems are identified,

purchased and implemented?” While this question also aligns with corporate strategic efforts it

also helps us better understand the role that IT plays in understanding how the technology will

fit in with the current systems – integrated, siloed and/or centralized or decentralized. As we

can see from the results in Figure 6, the IT function was generally consulted at the initial stage.

IT SYNTHESIS 37

From the results, I question the ambiguity of the “most of the time” answers in that this high

percentage needs explanation and could mean that the wide majority of the time, IT is in fact

not consulted.

Figure 6. IT consultation with regards to new systems

To better understand the question of ROI, I posed the question “How do you measure

the proposed ROI of a technology initiative”? Figure 7 resulted in 41.7% responding “Predefined

and balanced process owned by IT and Finance”, 16.7% “Finance handles that, ask them”,

41.7% “Not sure.” Write-ins included: “ROI isn't the predominate determining factor” and

“Depends on the project...capital items typically get more ROI attention.” For the purposes of

IT SYNTHESIS 38

this discussion, approximately 60% of the respondents did not have a handle on ROI, and/or the

larger impact of the technology initiative. This information tells a compelling story about the

involvement of the technology department in combination with strategic business efforts.

Figure 7. Measurement of ROI

Themes�

While all of the interviews and surveys revealed valuable information, there were a few

common themes across the data set.

• Lack of strategic alignment of business and technology objectives and goals

IT SYNTHESIS 39

• Lack of change Management

• Inability to value technology initiatives

• Lack of general business knowledge in IT and the role of IT within the organization

In this section I discuss each of the above themes and explore how they impact organizational

processes.

The first theme is a lack of leadership and the misalignment of business and technology

objectives and goals. Seen across all data sets, this theme sets the stage for misguided and

disjointed efforts. In the healthcare setting, the EHR platform was seen as a strategic objective,

however, there was a disconnect between the technology and how it would impact the

organization –including the jobs and responsibilities of the stakeholders.

The second theme consisted of ineffective or no change management. As can be seen

across each EHR implementation, technology initiatives systemically impacted the operations of

the enterprise, and this introduced a level of change that required careful planning and

collaboration across the organization. These initiatives had a profound impact on the

organizations, from the people and managers to the bottom line. As can be seen from the

cases, where technology initiatives failed, there was little to no change management, and

where successful, a well thought out change management initiative was in place. When the

initiative failed, the organizational impact was felt across the company, creating a backlash of

effects ranging from distrust to the reinstatement of legacy systems and processes.

The third theme is an inability to value the technology initiative; either during initial

analysis or post deployment. This theme was common across all interviews and survey

IT SYNTHESIS 40

respondents, presenting a substantial challenge to all IT professionals – including CIOs. Among

the survey respondents, 40% noted that there was a predefined process between finance and

IT. However, this need not insinuate that there is a defensible ROI attached to soft and hard

results. We will explore this further in the next section.

The fourth theme is the inability of the majority of technology professionals to translate

the benefits of technology to the business and vice versa. What is sometimes seen as a

technology issue is nothing more than a procedural or management issue. For example, in the

case of a new EHR, processes changed and therein job responsibilities shifted. As revealed in

select interviews and surveys, technology professionals lack an intrinsic understanding of their

business, failing to develop solutions that promote the mission and vision of the organization.

Implications

Based upon the themes previously identified, this section focuses on the implications for

businesses, and I offer recommendations for integrating and synthesizing IT efforts with

business objectives. The problem does not rest in one place within the organization, but across

the organization as an institutional challenge; however, the challenge is not IT centric. Evident

across all data sets are communication and collaboration challenges flowing between business

and IT. At each organization, there is either a gap in leadership and strategic alignment, change

management, valuation, or an inability to translate business and IT requirements into one

cohesive and strategic activity– or all four.

IT SYNTHESIS 41

Implications for lack of Strategic Alignment

When IT initiatives fail to map back to the strategic goals of the organization, my

research suggests that technology investments will suffer from one or all of the following:

inadequate planning, resourcing or funding. Lack of one of these ingredients can spell disaster

for the IT initiative and lead to a misallocation of resources. This lack of strategic alignment

fundamentally leads to a disconnect in the organizational priorities of the organization –

widening the business-technology gap. To address this issue, organizations must develop strong

partnerships between the business and technology departments. This partnership is

responsible for mapping technology initiatives back to the strategic goals of the organization.

When IT initiatives are mapped back to strategic goals, the initiative is positioned to receive

proper buy-in, including resources to promote a successful outcome. The research also suggests

that when leadership is involved in the change, they have a profound impact on the success or

failure of the initiative. Leadership, the executive team, must be involved in helping align their

strategic goals with technologies that enable them to execute their plan consistently. It needs

to be noted that there is a difference between strategic objectives and strategic alignment. As

can be seen in Case #2, Hospital 1, the EHR implementation was a strategic objective, with the

objectives mapping to strategic goals and alignment between the executive team and the

technology initiative. Strategic alignment requires that technology conversations focus on

outcomes that build integrated systems and ultimately, an operating model that promotes the

long term mission of the organization.

IT SYNTHESIS 42

Smaller organizations that are in growth mode tend to have difficulty developing a

cohesive plan for developing their technology architecture. Most believe that their existing

process, those processes that allowed for them to become successful, will continue to deliver

results. However, what makes an organization successful today may not make a firm successful

tomorrow. Business owners need to develop an understanding for how technology can lead to

competitive advantages. IT needs to become strategic within the organization by standardizing

and automating processes and thereby enabling leadership and staff to focus on more valuable

activities.

In medium sized firms strategic alignment between the IT function is a necessity. To

promote this type of integration, I recommend that companies bring on a CIO (or interim CIO)

to interface with the executive team to bridge the technological divide between the business

units. This position is crucial to helping traditional leadership teams develop their IT

competency–leading to a sustainable and unique competitive advantage. An IT governance

team is also recommended. This cross functional team, incorporating executives, line managers

and employees, is tasked with filtering through technical initiatives; mapping technical

initiatives back to strategic goals. This integrated system helps prioritize proposed IT initiatives

and map initiatives back to strategic goals (see Figure 8).

IT SYNTHESIS 43

Figure 8: Strategic Goal, Governance, IT Initiative

Implications for lack of Change Management

Organizations develop their own unique cultures based upon leadership values,

strategic goals, organizational structure and internal business processes. The cultures develop a

shared understanding for how decisions are made and executed, their collective role and what

to expect given fluctuations in the operating environment. When change is necessary, the

impact on the organization can be significant. IT initiatives tend to touch all or part of the

workforce. When a core application changes, not only is the internal employee impacted but

the customer might also be impacted via long hold times, confusion, incorrect information and

general frustration (see Figure 9). The impact on the employee could equate to decreased

productivity and job frustration. To curb potential issues surrounding technological change, I

recommend that key stakeholders be brought to the table to drive the technological change;

including a well-trained leadership team. Buy-in from the top is critical, along with cross

functional teams composed of line managers and employees to help define effective change

IT SYNTHESIS 44

management strategies. This change management team is tasked with developing an action

plan devoted to developing an organization of change.

Figure 9: Impact of change

To get started developing a culture of change, I recommend that organizations start

with incremental changes and high visibility quick wins (see Figure 10). Incremental changes

might begin with incremental work environment changes while others might include simple

application training and feedback session i.e. how-to’s and short cuts. Constant feedback is a

necessity to creating winning change management initiatives. This constant feedback loop

empowers the employee and helps guide change management efforts. Create constant

feedback loops through email, anonymous submission forms and user forums. These

mechanisms help employees feel connected to the process and engaged in helping develop and

drive change. When successfully implemented, organizations start to introduce change into

their culture, preparing their organization for more substantial change in the future.

IT SYNTHESIS 45

Figure 10: Introducing Incremental Change

Empower Employees to Change

Develop a constant feedback loop Introduce work environment changes

Introduce technology (software/application) change

Tools for communication • Email • Anonymous submission • User forums • Twitter • Instant Messaging

Promote employee collaboration on problems or issues

• Desk and workstation setup

• Shared services accessibility

• Addition of art and plants

• Empower employees to create change

Engage Employees (bring into the conversation)

• Training o How-to’s

• Feedback sessions o Current challenges o Employees feedback o Employee to employee

help sessions • User Fairs

For a constant feedback loop to be effective there must be follow-up on each request or submission – create a mechanism to prioritize each thought or idea.

Leverage the feedback loop to gather ideas. Create an environment where employees are implementing constant change within their environment

Employees tend to feel handcuffed by technology; create an environment where employees leverage technology, and change processes to benefit the mission and vision of the organization

After the organization has developed a culture of change, more substantial change can

be introduced into the organization. When implementing a system that impacts a business unit

or rather the whole organization, it is important that efforts be managed in a systematic fashion

driven by leadership, HR and the employee. Change Management would be well served to

expand upon the items listed in Figure 10 to develop a cohesive strategy to empower the

employee. Success comes down to the individual and their acceptance of change. As can be

seen throughout the interviews, one of the most important aspects of the approach must be

defining the WIIFM or rather the "what's in it for me" to each and every employee involved.

This means that each employee, line manager and director must understand how their

responsibilities might change, evolve and benefit. For each initiative, organizational success

IT SYNTHESIS 46

factors must match the employee success factors (see figure 11). Any gaps need to be identified

and addressed before moving forward.

Figure 11: Success Factors

Implications of not valuing the technology initiative

Interviews and surveys proved that technology professionals suffer from an inability to

value their role and the importance of technology to the sustainability of the organization. This

inability to prove their value to the organization, and the top and bottom line, is disastrous. IT

departments and CIO’s must work with leadership and business units to develop sound ways of

measuring the ROI of IT initiatives. To accomplish this, the organization must be creative in

identifying success factors and ways to defensibly measure that success. Hubbard (2007)

promotes the idea that anything can be measured –once you understand what determines

success. One such example includes the inability of the Chicago Symphony to determine

customer satisfaction. Many methods were examined, including surveys; however, even

surveys were determined to be insufficient. With this in mind, the Chicago Symphony decided

to measure their success by monitoring the number of standing ovations across a season. With

little effort, the symphony had a good sense of their performance and a simple Key

Performance Indicator (KPI) to monitor and track their progress. This is a good example of

IT SYNTHESIS 47

measuring something that upon first glance appears un-measureable. IT initiatives fall into this

category.

If businesses are having difficulty developing a defensible return for an IT initiative ( i.e.,

it either saves money or makes money), do not proceed. Determine a good method for

developing an ROI that fits your business model--either financially or organizationally. A

financial ROI shows a defensible correlation between the outlay of cash and savings per unit of

output. A soft ROI may lead to process efficiencies that equate to employee happiness,

improved services levels and happier customers. It is helpful to think about the proposed

outcome and how it might impact the enterprise, financially and organizationally. The following

questions can be helpful in generating an understanding on what the initiative will deliver back

to the organization.

IT SYNTHESIS 48

Figure 12: Valuations Questions

Hard ROI’s (financial) are important, but in some cases soft ROI’s are even more

important. A soft ROI is tied to the intangible activities that are impacted by the initiative. This

might include a digitized HR form that tracks the employee from on-boarding to off-boarding.

The form plays a pivotal role in promoting clear communications in a track-able and

measureable fashion. The results include a more proactive HR organization and a happier and

more informed employee. These types of efforts can mitigate employee attrition which is

expensive and associated with poor communications and lack of integrated internal employee

services. Another example could include the improvement of customer facing work order

processing. Many organizations are challenged by legacy paper based processes; tracking

papers through inter-office mail, filing cabinets, personal file folders and fax. Paper based

processes require a lot of employee effort and external resources (paper, ink, and toner). The

IT SYNTHESIS 49

cost of losing or misplacing this information can be substantial, resulting in customer loss and

employee aggravation. Even when the process is streamlined, the data associated with the

work order or contract is siloed within paper; not re-useable nor track-able. By moving

processes into a digitized format, organizations enable the reuse of information promoting

unified communications across departments and data integrity. Managers and employees gain

access to key information, such as status, which can result in proactive customer support and

mechanisms for improving and enhancing processes. In review, the return on taking one paper

based process digital, where the process centralizes data and information into a re-useable

format (while also being track-able) becomes very valuable to the organization – with a

defensible return. The return is operational and needs to be attached to either process

efficiencies (more capacity) or workforce reduction. Access to a new data set is a strategic

advantage and leads to key insight into processes which could result in the identification of new

products, services or unique ways to drive down expenses.

Implications for a lack of business and technological aptitude

Many IT professionals throw technology at business problems in hopes that the

technology will solve the problem. As part of that process, IT professionals install, configure and

deploy systems per best practice. After handoff, IT moves on to the next project. The business

units are left to fend for themselves, attempting to use the technology without any formal

training or understanding of what or how the system is intended to work. In many cases this

leads to misconfigurations, inadequate integration and short term disruption in services.

IT SYNTHESIS 50

A typical scenario includes the implementation of an enterprise grade accounting

system. Accounting has a good understanding of the business requirements while IT has a firm

understanding of the technology landscape. The two departments meet and engage with

multiple vendors. IT fields the technology questions and requirements signing off on platforms

that will integrate with current systems. Accounting is then tasked with identifying a system

that will meet their immediate business requirements. With little collaboration, IT facilitates

the installation and deployment of the application while accounting configures and integrates

the application into their environment –a fairly typical collaborative effort between IT and a

business unit. In this scenario, two business departments are collaborating but not synthesizing

their efforts. This could be due to many factors, and from the research and interviews the

problem appeared to be in IT and the business unit – collaborative problems. How can the two

synthesize their efforts without understanding the full impact of the initiative?

To solve these issues there are two primary approaches. The first approach is to

proactively train your technology department on the business, strategic goals and the proposed

shared services of the organization. The goal is to inform technology leaders on business

functions and how they integrate with the rest of the organization; from product development

to material processing and order fulfillment. This information can help IT better understand the

impact of their services on the organization, leading to the development of systematic

approaches to integrating and enabling departments. With a firm understanding of how

accounting interfaces with interconnected business processes, IT can act in a consultative role,

helping guide the conversation, promoting a long term strategic fit of systems and data. The

second approach builds off of the first approach and adds a governance structure to the

IT SYNTHESIS 51

process. This governance structure helps business unit’s work with IT to identify applications

that fit into the defined structure of the organization. This cross functional team consists of

business owners and line managers, including application and business analysts, which help

align business and technology. I recommend this approach as it helps create a buffer between

IT and the business units helping to promote the mission and vision of the organization through

a well-balanced process.

IBM (2009), in their most recent CIO study, attempted to understand how and why

technology professionals fail to bring value to the business as a whole. IBM noted that

traditional IT managers, in small to medium sized organizations, juggled many activities,

balancing support requirements with system maintenance. The study concluded that small to

medium sized companies spent less time in high value activities, such as strategy development

and innovation, instead focusing on supporting and maintaining existing infrastructures. As a

result of this study, I realized that IT tended to view the business world from the inside out –

from the data center to the customer. The rationale being that IT systems drove the business;

from application ownership to the security of data and systems. In reality IT should be focusing

on the perimeter, from the user back to the data center. The goal must be to understand the

user, their job junction and supporting business process. The new goal needs to provide an

optimal operating environment in support of the user, not the data center. By synthesizing IT

and the business, through IT Optimized processes, this is possible.

IT SYNTHESIS 52

Summary

IT initiatives continue to challenge the enterprise, financially and organizationally. As

Carr (2003) points out, the proposed benefits of IT initiatives do not always merit the financial

outlay and organizational disruption. Ross et al. (2006) on the other hand, would argue that

well thought out and planned initiatives, those initiatives that help create a foundation for

execution, are worthy of the effort and promote a defensible competitive advantage. As a

bridge between these perspectives, my research suggests that IT initiatives can be predictably

successful if what we know about leadership, organizational development and change

management are applied to the effort in a structured and consistent manner.

Based on the current, qualitative study and the themes that emerged in this work, it is

apparent that current practices and organizational processes are often stifled by a lack of

leadership and misalignment of business and technology objectives and goals; lack of change

management; an inability to value technology initiatives, and an overall lack of general business

knowledge in IT and the role of IT within the organization. Together, these themes raise critical

implications for successful and strategic evolutions in organizational practices.

By synthesizing the efforts of leadership and IT, organizations bridge the business-

technology gap and develop a strong competency in delivering IT Optimized processes. This

synthesis requires a commitment to developing the technology competency of the organization

and to building processes and governance structures that map IT efforts with strategic goals.

Governance structures provide visibility into proposed IT initiatives and help prioritize and align

projects horizontally and vertically across the organization. The governing body, with clear

IT SYNTHESIS 53

oversight of the business-technology function, promotes the consolidation of data and

processes –centralizing information and promoting the reuse of information and the technology

infrastructure. Effective change management strategies work in conjunction with the

governance structure developing change management strategies that fit the culture of the

organization. Effective change management, with strong feedback loops help infuse

technological change within the organization, resulting in strong user adoption and highly

successful implementations. The return on investment is then linked to hard and soft

indicators; from the reduction of IT related capital expenditures to process and operational

efficiencies leading to a realignment of resources. Combined, these efforts create the IT

Optimized Business Approach, a flexible framework that synthesizes business-technology

initiatives leading to integrated processes that deliver top and bottom line results making

companies more agile and competitive.

IT SYNTHESIS 54

Appendix A Sample Interview Protocol

• What is your title?

• What is the role of technology, specifically information systems within your company?



• How do you determine the IT initiatives to execute?

• How do you measure the ROI of a technology initiative?

• What is the role of technology, specifically information systems within your

organization?



• How are technology initiatives chosen and prioritized within the organization?

• What determines the success of a technology initiative and what is the main predictor?

• How do you measure the success of a technology initiative?

• Do you have an enterprise architecture (EA)?

• Are you or your colleagues consulted when new technologies are chosen and

integrated?

• How are IT initiatives rolled out to the workforce? Staged or phased approach?

• Does workforce management (HR) play a key role in developing user adoption

strategies?

IT SYNTHESIS 55

• Do you use any lean six sigma methodologies within the IT services department? If so,

what and how?

• Do you have a defensible strategy for developing a useful ROI of a technology initiative?

• How does technology promote the mission of this organization?

IT SYNTHESIS 56

Appendix B Tech Survey

1. How would you characterize the IT function within the corporate strategy of your company? Answer Options Response

Percent Response

Count Closely aligned 30.8% 4 Cooperative partners 61.5% 8 Limited Involvement 0.0% 0 Unrelated 7.7% 1 Other (please specify) 0

answered question 13 skipped question 0

2. Is the IT function consulted before new systems are identified, purchased and implemented? Answer Options Response

Percent Response

Count Always 38.5% 5 Most of the time 46.2% 6 Sometimes 7.7% 1 Rarely, if ever 7.7% 1 Other (please specify) 0


3. Do you have an Enterprise Architecture (EA)?

Answer Options Response Percent

Response Count

Yes 46.2% 6 No 23.1% 3 Not sure 30.8% 4 Other (please specify) 2


4. How would you characterize the IT function?


Response Count

Proactive 7.7% 1 Reactive 7.7% 1 Mix 84.6% 11

IT SYNTHESIS 57

Other (please specify) 0 answered question 13

skipped question 0 5. What is your biggest pain point with regard to your enterprise strategy?


Response Count

Compliance 25.0% 3 Enterprise Content Management 16.7% 2 Data Integration 8.3% 1 Reporting 16.7% 2 Process Improvements 41.7% 5 Moving from paper to digital/eForms 16.7% 2 Determining project ROI 8.3% 1 Developing an Enterprise architecture 25.0% 3 Standardizing systems and information 25.0% 3 Other (please specify) 2


6. Is Business Process Automation of interest to your company?


Response Count

Definitely 46.2% 6 Perhaps 30.8% 4 Ambivalent 15.4% 2 Not at this time 7.7% 1 Other (please specify) 0


7. What percentage of the time do you manage processes in the following forms?

Percentage Answer Options

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Response Count

Paper Based

7 2 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 13

File Based (Word, Excel, Email)

1 4 4 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 13

Electronic Forms

8 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11

IT SYNTHESIS 58

(InfoPath, Adobe) Software Application

4 3 2 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 13

Custom Solutions

2 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 5

Question Totals

Other (please specify) 0 answered question 13

skipped question 0

8. Do you currently have the tools available to implement general forms based business process improvement strategies? Answer Options Response

Percent Response

Count Yes 69.2% 9 No 15.4% 2 Maybe 15.4% 2 Other (please specify) 0

answered question 13skipped question 0

9. How do you measure the proposed ROI of a technology initiative?


Response Count

Predefined and balanced process owned by IT and Finance

41.7% 5

Finance handles that, ask them 16.7% 2 Not sure 41.7% 5 Not possible 0.0% 0 There is an equation for that 0.0% 0 Other (please specify) 2


10. Is it common for IT to work in conjunction with HR/Workforce Management to develop user adoption strategies when deploying a new technology? Answer Options Response

Percent Response

Count Always 7.7% 1

IT SYNTHESIS 59

Sometimes 69.2% 9 Not usually 23.1% 3 Not sure 0.0% 0 Other (please specify) 0


IT SYNTHESIS 60

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George, M., Rowlands, D., & Kastle, B. (2004). What is Lean Six Sigma. New York: McGraw-Hill.

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Keen, P. G. (1997). The process edge: Creating value where it counts. Boston: President and Fellows of Harvard College.

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Kotter, J. P. (2007). Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail. Boston: Harvard Business Review.

Krigsman, M. (2009, August 12). Three big reasons CRM initiatives fail. Retrieved January 5, 2010, from Tech Republic: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/tech-manager/?p=1853

Ross, J., Weill, P., & Robertson, D. C. (2006). Enterprise Architecture as strategy: Creating a foundation for business execution. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Ulrich, D. (2008). The changing nature of human resources: A model for multiple roles. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation.

Ulrich, D., Brockbank, W., Johnson, d., Sandholtz, K., & Younger, J. (2008). HR Competencies: Mastery at the intersection of people and business. Alexandria: Society for Human Resource Management.

Ulrich, D., Zenger, J., & Smallwood, N. (1999). Results-Based Leadership. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

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Wallace, L., & Trinka, J. (2007). A legacy of 21st Century leadership: A guide for creating a climate of leadership throughout your organization. Lincoln: iUniverse.

Weill, P., & Ross, J. W. (2009). IT Savvy: What Top Executives Must Know to Go from Pain to Gain. Boston: Harvard Business Press.