Information Technology Strategic Planning

A 'Quick & Dirty' Strategic Plan Outline:
If you are working in a small to medium sized company you may be wondering if it is really possible to follow through with a strategic planning process. The outline below provides a "quick and dirty" approach for creating an MIS strategic plan for your company, even if you are faced with a small budget. Regardless of your business size, alignment of business and the MIS objectives is an exercise which should be performed at least on an annual basis.

1. Review and Define Strategic Corporate Goals

Meet with the key executive leadership to specify a list of the primary business goals for the next one to three years. These should include any new product introductions, geographic expansions, new facilities, customer service initiatives, headcount increases, or modified revenue targets.

2. Review and Analyze Current Technology Infrastructure

Summarize the current state of the LAN, WAN, server, mainframe, PC, and software asset base. Outline the current strengths and weaknesses. Review any recently announced product upgrades. Document any obvious standardization which has evolved within the company since the last technology review.

3. Determine Tactical Technology Goals

Create a list of technology goals for the next one to three years which support the needs of the current business processes, as well as the infrastructure requirements for the new business initiatives. These tactical plans might include LAN/WAN expansions or conversions, internet/intranet implementations, server deployments, major ERP software upgrades, or additional application development.

4. Create a List of Proposed Projects

Based on the findings for the previous three sections, a list of major technology and application projects should be developed. These should be broken into tactical projects with defined time requirements. Each project should be clearly linked to the business and technology goals it is intended to support. In addition, any other required projects should be defined which are simply necessary for the the continued maintenance and evolution of the existing technology infrastructure of the business.

5. Define the Implementation Timeline

The proposed projects should be put into a realistic time schedule. This schedule is probably best presented in the form of a gantt chart showing the planned time periods for implementing each of the defined projects. This proposed project schedule then becomes a key document for capital and expense budgeting during the upcoming fiscal time periods.

Collecting this information, and then performing the required strategic brainstorming should involve your top executives, business area managers, and technology experts. Consider the use of consultants to bring an outside perspective to the discussions, or to assist in structuring and facilitating the planning process. Remember that any outside consultants should be viewed as advisers, not deciders.