Clearly defining the vision of an organization, effectively communicating a roadmap to achieve the desired outcomes, and then validating the actual results is a simple enough concept. Yet, many organizations display only limited success in creating an environment in which the development of strategic goals is reinforced by processes that educate, organize and align the enterprise's activities in support of achieving those goals. It is even more rare that the company effectively manages business and technology together to achieve strategic goals, and relies on pre-defined metrics to ensure consistency in execution and measurement of success.
Creating this ability begins with establishing effective processes to provide feedback into the creation and formal expression of an enterprise's business strategy. A key element of this feedback is the clear articulation of the expected role that enabling technologies will play in achieving each business objective. An equally important component is the definition of the criteria that will be used to judge the success of each initiative undertaken to achieve a strategic goal.
Documenting strategic planning assumptions and success metrics is also a pre-requisite for establishing an effective technology strategy. Done well, this becomes a truly "business-driven” technology strategy, which is the result of a predictable planning process used to define and document the specific business technology capabilities that must be put in place to achieve business goals and objectives. Once the organization has decided on its course, it must communicate the expected outcomes to employees and key stakeholders. The organization needs to be clear about the initiatives to be undertaken and their expected business results, so that each person feels ownership of the initiatives and is committed to their success. It must also establish the linkage between making business technology management investments and achieving superior business results. These linkages must be "executive sponsored and senior management ready." That means that in addition to documenting and planning for the execution of strategic initiatives, the organization must also monitor the outcomes of each decision using business-focused metrics that measure success in terms suitable for the board and "C" level executives, rather than expressing outcomes in ways that seek only to evaluate technology efficiency.
A process approach provides a roadmap for business technology impact and value creation, and statistical methods provide the tools to capture, isolate, and measure such impacts. Senior executives increasingly need to understand how business technology can lead to improvement in operations, enhance management's decision-making, and place the organization in better shape to compete. They need practical ways to decide when to invest, how to channel investments towards appropriate problem solving, and how to ensure that this leads to value.