Today I wanted to comment on a report that I just finished reading. It is the third annual McKinsey Survey on information technology strategy and spending. The report was an eye opener. It tries to uncover the importance of IT strategy to business, but uncovers some interesting things about project management.
Here are the few things that opened my eyes, and made me feel that we are on the same frequency. First, the vast majority of executives (both information and other) feel that their expectations on IT are unmet. One of the biggest areas where they feel IT should be contributing more is in improving the effectiveness and efficiency of business processes...better information for decision makers, better speed to market. Yep, that means that there should be more help making the organization more able to operate and compete.
Now, here is some good news. When asked about the effectiveness of delivering IT projects on time and on budget, 30% said they were extremely effective, while 38% said they were somewhat effective. Interestingly enough, this is about the same percentages published by the Standish Group in the last issue of the CHAOS Chronicles. Though it isn't what we would all want to see (perfection!), it is a sign of continuing improvement. You can go back to the 1994 issue (#1) of the CHAOS Chronicles and see for yourself.
Another point was that most executives shared that there is a big, giant gap between their ideal and the reality of how IT strategy and business strategy should be linked. OK, so, now for some guidance. Out of the top nine improvement areas for closing the gap, three of them seemed targeted directly at project managers:
- Improve talent and capabilities of IT staff but in the area of communications and management!
- Reallocate IT budgets to focus on business value drivers
- Improve governance processes and oversight.
Man, oh man, oh man. This is targeted at us. In making IT more effective, we need to manage better; communicate better; make sure that capital (as in money!) is invested to improve business value; and finally improve governance and oversight of projects. This is exactly where we need to focus the project practitioner in the future...better communications skills; keener understanding of the relationship of their projects to business value; more sophisticated governance abilities.
Read the study and decide for yourself.
More later.
