Strategic IT Planning for Public Organizations: A Toolkit - UNU-IIST ...

Strategic IT Planning Toolkit – Section 2: Strategic IT Planning Process
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A simplified but representative process for strategic planning is provided in Figure 3. A
comprehensive plan for the whole process and the necessary commitment is first secured by the
strategy team. In the strategic framework task, the mission of the organization or project is established
or clarified, and the vision, desired future outcomes and goals are specified. Major stakeholders are
also identified in the strategic framework phase which drives the whole planning process. While
developing the strategic framework, a detailed assessment of the internal and external environment of
the organization (with respect to the purpose of the planning exercise and goals) could commence.
The outcome of the assessment and strategic framework phase provide input for the strategy
development phase. The strategy development phase involves carrying out SWOT analysis,
identifying critical success factors, and developing relevant set of concrete strategies to achieve set
goals in view of constraints and opportunities.
Concrete initiatives are defined from the developed strategies as an implementation plan. A
framework for measuring performance of initiatives and projects (resulting from initiatives) is
developed in the strategy control phase to provide necessary feedback information for strategy
evolution and management. The output of the strategy control task is one of the inputs to the strategy
development process.
We specialize this process for strategic IT planning in the next section.
2.1.3 Strategic IT Planning Process
A strategic IT planning process aims to produce IT strategies, concrete IT initiatives and projects to
support organizational needs in order to deliver concrete values to stakeholders. It involves the
development of a strategic IT plan that satisfies (or properly aligns with) the business requirements.
The strategic IT plan is also required to sustain and extend organizational strategy and governance
requirements while being transparent about benefits, costs and risks [22]. Specifically, a strategic IT
plan in a public organization is expected to provide answers to following questions:
o How will IT deliver value to citizens and business and the public at large?
o How will IT support the internal business and administrative processes towards operation
excellence?
o How will IT enable the collaboration of the public organization with others?
o How will IT support compliance with regulations governing the public organization?
o How should IT financial be used?
o How will the required IT skill and competences be acquired?
o How will the IT infrastructure be further developed and more optimally utilized?
o How will IT manage operational risk and ensure business continuity?
o How will IT maintain the security of information?
o How will the contributions of IT to the business be measured?
o What structural changes (or organizational changes) are required in the IT organization and
the larger organization for value creation and preservation?
In line with the generic process presented in Section 2.1.2, the important features (or underlying
principles) for an effective strategic IT planning process is described below:
Report No. 417, May 2009
UNU-IIST, P. O. Box 3058, Macao