Manage It As A Business

Many IT projects fail to deliver the benefits to the business that were promised. Yet IT managers and staff work hard to meet the needs of the business: Systems are put in place; network operations are reliable and stable. The cause is usually a misalignment of IT with the business. In this book, Bennet Lientz and Lee Larssen present over 200 specific, practical guidelines and steps that show how to: align IT and the business, develop methods that make IT more proactive in helping the business, more effectively manage vendors, avoid negative surprises, ensure that more projects are completed on time and within budget, among other things. The techniques in this book have been implemented in over 60 organizations around the world and in over 20 different industries, and the authors include several examples in each chapter to illustrate their points. Follow these proven recommendations to manage IT as a business that adds value to the company.

Audience: IT Directors, Managers, Consultants, and Staff.

Business/Management

Manage IT as a Business How to Achieve Alignment and Add Value to the Company

Bennet P. Lientz and Lee Larssen

Many IT projects fail to deliver the benefits to the business that they promised. This is despite the fact that IT managers and staff work hard to meet the needs of the business by putting systems into place and ensuring that network operations are reliable and stable. The cause of this problem is almost always a misalignment of IT within the business.

In this book, Bennet Lientz and Lee Larssen present over 200 specific, practical guidelines and steps that demonstrate how to:

¨ Align IT and the business
¨ Develop methods that make IT more proactive in helping the business
¨ More effectively manage vendors
¨ Avoid negative surprises
¨ Ensure that more projects are completed on time and within budget

The techniques in this book have been implemented in over 60 organizations around the world and in over 20 different industries, and the authors include several examples in each chapter to illustrate their points.

Bennet P. Lientz is a consultant, teacher, and researcher. He is Professor of Information Systems at the Anderson Graduate School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Lientz was one of the project leaders involved in the development of ARPANET, the precursor of the Internet. He is the author of more than 20 books and 60 articles on information systems, planning, project management, and E-Business.

Lee Larssen has served as a business and IT manager and consultant for the past 25 years in over 40 firms in various locations such as Asia, Latin American, Australia and Europe. She was also the Manager of Operations for Toyota Automotive Group from 1979-1999.

Bennet Lientz has taught and consulted on project management for the past 28 years to more than 5000 people. He developed the concept of the management critical path, acted as project manager of the Internet, and turned around 10 failing projects. This Second Edition is Lientz’ seventh book; he has also written more than 25 articles in various areas of project management.

Lee Larssen has served as a business and IT manager and consultant for the past twenty-five years. She has extensive hands-on experience in the following areas: · Business process outsourcing for manufacturing, distribution, marketing, and logistics · Strategic planning for business units in manufacturing and distribution · IT outsourcing in the areas of systems operations, networking, system development, software package implementation, and systems support · IT management- managed groups of up to 150 employees · Coordinated the implementation of three major ERP systems · Implemented E-Business with suppliers for seven organizations · Developed and implemented score card measurements for IT and business processes · Management process improvement efforts for over a ten year period Education: · B.A., fine arts, Massachusetts Institute of Fine Arts, 1962 · M.A., mathematics, Oxford University, 1968 Positions Held: · Consultant in process improvement and IT to over forty firms in Asia, Latin America, Australia, and Europe in the following industries, 1999-present - Manufacturing - Distribution - Logistics - Marketing - Power generation and distribution - Banking - Insurance - Natural resource development · Served as project management for implementing modules of SAP and Peoplesoft in five firms · Manager, Operations, Toyota Automotive Group, 1979- 1999 · Consultant as IT manager to firms, 1974-1979 - Graphic arts - Sports management - Distribution - Marketing