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I really don't understand IT, but I realise it's something that we need to sort out as an organisation. We've been too reactionary in the past, and want to be proactive about using technology appropriately.
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There's the old saying "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail". You've probably got a charter, organisational plan, or similar guiding your organisation. You need something like that to provide direction to the IT functions of your organisation. It's best written by yourselves, without thinking too much about the current operational issues. An IT strategic plan should be a somewhat aspirational document, giving the organisation a set of goals to head towards.
Have a look at our ICT Planing Guide for more information.
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June 23 2010
Jurgen Schaub
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Our IT services are provided by a volunteer, and they're sometimes unavailable when things break. Do you have any suggestions?
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Ask the volunteer to document your systems. There should be two kinds of documents: one set written for other IT people, showing where important files are, and what the passwords for various systems are. The other set are some step-by-step instructions for fixing common problems with the system.
Even better, consider transitioning to a system that requires less maintenance. Spending a bit of money to buy something that requires less fiddling around would save everyone time and money. While the volunteer is free, the time you waste when things don't work well, does cost you money.
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June 23 2010
Jurgen Schaub
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I've been told to write an IT Strategic Plan. I have no idea what that is. Help!
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In the classic five-minute university style, here's a really quick "IT Strategic Planning 101".
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If you're the only one writing it, stop. Plans written in isolation won't work; you need full-organisation buy-in, from the receptionist to the board.
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Keep it short and simple. Everyone in the organisation should be able to read it and understand where things are headed. I'm talking less-than-one-page simple. This is a strategic plan, not an operational one. The operational plan can be big, and not everyone has to understand it.
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Have you got an organisational strategic plan? If you do, make sure the IT strategic plan aligns with it nicely. If you don't have one, you might consider getting that done first.
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Plans expire. Shoot for 3-5 years.
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Technology changes. What was possible 5 years ago? What will be possible in 5 years? Things are getting cheaper, faster, smaller. The state of the art takes about 5 years to become common. The common takes about 5 years to get cheap. Look at LCD televisions for a very visible example of this. What's common now? What's the state of the art now?
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Don't just fill out a template. They're nice guides, but this is something that requires a lot of thought on your part. Use them for inspiration, but copying and pasting will do no one any good.
This is a good start, but you should probably have a look at our IT Planning documents too.
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June 23 2010
Jurgen Schaub
