CIOs managing change should consult Gartner's 10-point plan

CIOs need to prepare for business transformation, says analyst firm

Get ready for change

With so much emphasis on better use of IT helping to deliver cost savings across the public and private sectors, analyst firm Gartner's recent report, looking at how CIO's should approach business transformation, will be invaluable.

The report comprises 10 questions and a 10-point action plan for CIOs involved in turning a business around.

“When organisations have to navigate a business transformation, [IT] is usually in the middle of it in some way, either as a key enabler or a key constraint,” said Jorge Lopez, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner.

“CIOs rarely have a leadership position in a change of this scale, and they need to prepare more vigorously to ensure that IT does its job to advance strategic change.”

According to Gartner’s research, 70 per cent of chief executives believe that the pressure for business change will increase in the next five years.

Those 10 questions and 10 actions are:

1. What type of change is happening? Write down the top three most likely major changes your business will see and lay out all the different areas of IT and the business that would be affected - and rely on IT action to succeed.

2. Who is driving the change? Identify the top-level sponsor for strategic change. If you don’t have direct access, concentrate on the circle of trusted advisers around the sponsor.

3. What is the deadline for the change? Stay abreast of viewpoints inside and outside of the company.

4. What are the constraints to the change? Line up actions in your project plan to eliminate constraints.

5. How complex is your infrastructure? Take an inventory of applications and technology platform stacks. Map how many of the applications are redundant and can be consolidated, and calculate the cost savings and other benefits that will enhance future change.

6. Where are your people? Identify the top 10 per cent change-seekers in IT and make sure they have roles that allow them to exert considerable influence in effecting future strategic change.

7. What is the impact on stakeholders? Build a view of the organisational structure that should exist after the change, so you can get a clear picture of the individual fates of the stakeholders.

8. How are decisions made during a strategic change? List all stakeholders who will either will be affected, or have information, perspective or expertise about the decision. Tell them you want to know which way the decision appears to be heading and what you can do to either accelerate its outcome or help revive the initiative if it is rejected.

9. What is the impact on key and mission-critical processes? Identify the mission-critical processes most likely affected by change, and redesign them as required. Ensure you are plugged into the committee that controls decision-making on process redesign.

10. What are the mind-sets of the organisation, and what do they need to be? Make sure that the new mind-set is materially different from the one you want to displace.