Contents -- Preface -- The Challenge -- Planning Failures -- The General Objectives -- The Detailed Goals -- Our Approach -- How the Book is Organized -- Key Differences with Other Planning Books -- What You Will Get from the Book -- The Audience -- Part I The Planning Approach -- Chapter 1 Introduction -- 10 Reasons Given for Not Planning -- Reason 1: We have never carried out an IT planning effort before -- Reason 2: We are doing fine without the plan -- Reason 3: Our business does not even have a strategic plan. So why have a strategic IT plan? -- Reason 4: We tried doing a strategic IT plan before and it failed -- Reason 5: We are an organization with very limited IT resources so we cannot afford to do planning -- Reason 6: We don't have the expertise to do the planning -- Reason 7: We cannot afford a consultant to do the planning -- Reason 8: We have a very standard IT environment and do not require a strategic IT plan -- Reason 9: We are too busy to carry out the planning effort -- Reason 10: We did a plan and it was approved. But then no one paid any attention to the plan -- Why Do Strategic IT and Process Planning Together? -- What are the Objectives of the Planning Effort? -- Benefits of Strategic IT and Process Planning -- What is Success? -- What is Realistic IT and Process Planning? -- The Timing of the Strategic IT and Process Planning Effort -- The Relationship between IT, Process Improvement, and Change Management -- The Risks of IT and Process Planning and What Can Go Wrong -- Treating the Planning Effort as a Program and Project -- The Need for a Realistic, Scalable Planning Method -- Our Approach in a Nutshell -- Alignment - A Magic Word -- Applications and Benefits of this Planning Method -- How this Book is Organized -- Planning - Self-Interest -- Examples -- Lessons Learned -- Politics -- What to Do Next -- Summary.

Chapter 2 Planning -- Introduction -- Analyze Your Past Planning Efforts -- Define the Purpose and Scope of the Planning Work -- Succeed in Communications -- Collect Information for the Plan -- Assess the Business and Competitive Environment -- Evaluate the Technology and Architecture -- Analyze Processes and Determine Alignment to the Business Goals -- Assess the Alignment of IT and Systems to the Business -- Develop Issues and Opportunities for Planning -- Define Objectives and Constraints -- Create Strategies and Action Items -- Build the Plan and Relate It to the Business -- Market the Plan and Planning Method -- Get Resources for the Larger Planning Action Items -- Implement the Plan - Short Term -- Implement the Plan - Long Term -- Measure Planning Results -- Examples -- Lessons Learned -- Politics -- What to Do Next -- Summary -- Chapter 3 Undertake Effective Communications -- Introduction -- Steering Committees -- If You Don't Communicate… -- Informal versus Formal Communications -- Informal Communications -- Comments on Written Communications -- Present the Planning Approach -- Present the Project Plan for the Planning Effort -- Present Status on the Plan -- Present Quick Wins -- Get the Strategic Plan Approved -- Present a Strategic Plan for a Business Process -- Present a Plan for a Project Action Item -- Present the Resource Allocation -- Present Plan Results and Lessons Learned -- Present the Plan Update -- Examples -- Lessons Learned -- Politics -- What to Do Next -- Summary -- Part II Information Gathering and Assessment -- Chapter 4 Analyze Your Past Planning Efforts -- Market the New Planning -- Introduction -- The Label - A New Effort, Implementation of the Old, or Not Planning at All -- How to Gather Information from the Plan? -- Techniques in Interviewing and Politics -- Checklist for the Planning Process -- Checklist for the Plan.

How to Assess Your Past Efforts -- Present the Analysis Results -- What if This is the First Planning Effort? -- Potential Problems -- Examples -- The Irish farming cooperative -- A major energy and natural resources firm -- Lessons Learned -- Politics -- What to Do Next -- Summary -- Chapter 5 Collect Information for the Plan -- Introduction -- The Business Mission and Vision -- The Business Strategic Plan -- Current Business Initiatives -- Current and Projected Work in the Business -- Examine IT Overall -- A Review of the Past Planning -- Collect Information on the Previous Planning Work -- Analyze the Current Strategic IT Plan -- Examine Current Work in IT -- Review Projects in IT -- Assess the Existing IT Architecture and Infrastructure -- Develop the Project Plan for the Planning Effort -- Examples -- Lessons Learned -- Politics -- What to Do Next -- Summary -- Chapter 6 Assess the Business and IT Environment -- Introduction -- Business Process Management (BPM) -- Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) -- Collect External Information -- Analyze the Business Mission and Vision -- Assess Business Issues -- Develop and Organize Lists and Tables -- Collect Data from Managers and Staff -- Examples -- Lessons Learned -- Politics -- What to Do Next -- Summary -- Chapter 7 Determine Alignment of IT and Processes to the Business -- Introduction -- Dimensions of IT and Process Alignment -- Strategic Alignment of IT to the Business -- Intermediate Alignment of IT to the Business -- Operations Alignment of IT to the Business -- Analyze Business Processes -- Define a Vision for a Business Process -- Create a Real-World Process Plan -- Examples -- Lessons Learned -- Politics -- What to Do Next -- Summary -- Part III Develop the Plan -- Chapter 8 Develop Issues and Opportunities for the Plan -- Introduction -- Structure of Issues and Opportunities.

Tips on Defining Issues and Opportunities with Collaboration -- Process Issues and Opportunities -- Multiprocess Issues and Opportunities -- Application System Issues and Opportunities -- IT Vendor Issues and Opportunities -- Architecture and Infrastructure Issues and Opportunities -- IT Methods and Tools Issues and Opportunities -- IT Staffing and Organization Issues and Opportunities -- IT-Business Department Issues and Opportunities -- IT-Management Issues and Opportunities -- Project and Project Management Issues and Opportunities -- Examples -- Lessons Learned -- Politics -- What to Do Next -- Summary -- Chapter 9 Define Objectives and Constraints -- Introduction -- Structure of Objectives and Constraints -- Guidelines for Developing Objectives and Constraints -- General IT Objectives -- IT Staffing Objectives -- General Business Process Objectives -- Application Systems and Information Objectives -- Architecture and Infrastructure Objectives -- Project Objectives -- Discussion of Constraints -- Constraints on Resources -- Constraints Due to the Business and Organization -- Constraints Due to Systems and Technology -- Examples -- Lessons Learned -- Politics -- What to Do Next -- Summary -- Chapter 10 Create Strategies and Action Items -- Introduction -- Structure of Strategies and Action Items -- Discussion of IT Strategies -- General IT Strategies -- IT Staffing Strategies -- General Business Process Strategies -- Application Systems and Information Strategies -- Architecture and Infrastructure Strategies -- Project Strategies -- Policy Strategies -- Discussion of Action Items -- Technical and Technology Potential Action Items -- IT Staffing and Organization Action Items -- Business Process-Related Action Items -- Policies and Procedures Action Items -- Project Action Items -- Examples -- Lessons Learned -- Politics -- What to do Next.

Summary -- Chapter 11 Create Strategic IT and Process Plans for Business Units -- Introduction -- The Value of Strategic Business Unit Plans -- Why these Strategic Plans are Often Ignored -- Identify Key Business Units -- Develop Strategic Plans for Business Units without an Overall Strategic IT Plan -- Project the Overall Strategic Plan Down to a Business Unit -- Potential Problems with Strategic Business Unit Planning -- Measure Your Planning Work and Plan -- Update the Strategic Business Unit Plan -- Examples -- Lessons Learned -- Politics -- What to do Next -- Summary -- Chapter 12 Build and Market the Plan and Planning Method -- Introduction -- Define the Future Vision of Processes and IT -- Consolidate the Planning Tables -- Create Strategic Planning Databases -- Business Process Databases -- Databases for Business Planning Factors -- Databases for IT Projects -- Databases for IT Planning Factors -- Tables Related to Strategic Planning -- Develop and Document the Plan -- Positive and Negative Marketing -- Specific Marketing Activities -- Marketing before and at the start of planning -- Marketing during the planning effort to management -- Market the action items for resource allocation -- Market the implementation of action items -- Examples -- Lessons Learned -- Politics -- What to Do Next -- Summary -- Part IV Implement the Plan -- Chapter 13 Perform Strategic Resource Allocation -- Introduction -- If there is no Strategic Resource Allocation… -- Prepare the Detailed Project Plan for an Action Item -- Current Work and Operations -- Active Projects -- Maintenance and Enhancement -- Backlog of Work -- Emergency Fixes -- Targets of Opportunity -- Other New Project Ideas, Not from the Plan -- A Proven Method of Resource Allocation -- Timing and Frequency of Strategic Resource Allocation -- Examples -- Lessons Learned -- Politics.

What to do Next.