When survival is at stake, decision making tends to get clouded by knee-jerk reactions that often produce results opposite to what we want. "Retrench!" "Cut all new spending!"...
Maybe there is a way to say "No" that is better informed. I have seen good IT governance save many companies in 2000 and 2001 and I am seeing it re-surge again at this time of economic crisis.
"Cut IT spend by 10%." "Create a contingency plan for 20% less staff." "What are our non-critical projects?" These are the marching orders. But how do you do it? How can IT governance help?
CURRENT STATE
Not much can be done without a clear picture of what is actually going on. What projects are we doing? Who is working on them? Which projects are critical for growth and which for efficiency? What applications are we running? Is anybody using them? How much are we spending (people and money) to support them?
Old IT governance systems required huge amounts of detail to capture a snapshot of what is going on because they forced detailed resource information and allocation at the individual level. Now, on-demand IT governance solutions can do it quickly starting at the role level. You can have an 80% good-enough inventory done in a matter of 1-2 weeks.
I bet you are now thinking "OK, but I don't need an IT governance system, I can do it in a spreadsheet." Sure enough, and what happens in a month or next quarter when executives are asked to re-prioritize again? You are better off creating a sustainable IT governance system from the beginning.
SCENARIO COMPARISON
With a single version of the truth in hand, executives across departments can now make informed decisions and possibly find out that smart saying "No" leaves enough room to keep working on a critical investment for future growth and be ready to jump ahead of the competition when conditions improve.
Different scenarios can be modeled and compared against objectives and constraints in order to choose the best course of action and keep assessing those choices against changing conditions. Directing the right resources to the most critical priorities and ensuring their optimal utilization.
IT GOVERNANCE PROFICIENCY
IT governance often comes to the forefront in times of crisis, but the muscles developed by putting it in place are just as critical to navigate times of prosperity and growth. It's always all about priorities and smart use of resources. It's about the informed art of knowing what to say "No" to.
What are you being asked to say "No" to?
-- Alex Lobba
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