IT Business Partnership. Joseph Topinka

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What do I love about: IT Business Partnership?

This book is for business leaders who want to move their companies towards true business and technology convergence. That sweet spot where IT and business units are so strategically interwined that they operate almost interchangeably-voice the cry “IT must partner with the business!”. While studies show that 80 percent of business stakeholders don’t view the IT department as strategic collaborators, you can’t outperform the competition or drive bottom- line results without this vital partnership.

The book provides Insightful stories, and real-life examples of what works and what doesn’t are woven throughout, as are proven methods, tools and templates to help you through the entire process. It also includes template business case which I have attached as screenshots below.

What do I not love about: IT Business Partnership?

Zilch

Who should read: IT Business Partnership?

Anyone in a tech related career.

Who should not read: IT Business Partnership?

Individuals in non-tech related career may find it difficult to relate to this book.

Notes from IT Business Partnership

Chapter 1: Why IT business partnership matters

Language like “IT and the business” or “We need a seat at the table” also weakens the perception of IT within companies
IT organizations merely play a supportive and reactive role in the business process
The unfortunate fact is that many companies only converse esoterically about needing to align IT and the business
Many IT organization strive for alignment, meaning strategic plans are developed and then handed to IT after the fact. Still teams that are aligned find themselves in the position of playing catch-up with the business too often
True convergence happens when business units and IT understand all aspects of each other’s needs relative to strategic imperatives.

Chapter 5: Seeing is believing: The importance of field research

The only voice of the customer is in fact the customer voice
A meager 23 percent of CIO’s meet with external customers as a way to improve business relationships with stakeholders. This is an abysmal statistic and a strong indicator of the need for change
Hide the technology, surface the work
Apple was one of the earliest to leverage the power of observation. IT Business Partners need to master this skill in their roles too.
A thorough understanding between what people say they do and what they actually do even has a bearing on shaping effective public policy. The same is absolutely true when shaping IT solutions
When people encounter technology problems, they develop inefficient workaround processes that are actually frustrating but prove necessary to getting the job done

Chapter 7: Words matter: the power of language

3 Reasons projects make the grade:

Produce revenue, save money or mitigate risk. Others include: improve decision making, drive inefficiencies, improve customer service or drive more revenue

Chapter 12: Understanding your company’s competition

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication
The market is brutally efficient. It weeds out bad ideas and poor leaders and it never fails to do so. It is only just a matter of time

Chapter 13: Managing inside your company

Manage inside your company
Embrace office politics, managing up, communicate proactively

Chapter 14: Collaboration and teams

The amygdala is a powerful organ. It triggers emotions faster than conscious awareness and contains circuits that the brain responds to in the face of what it perceives to be significant emotional events
An IT Business Partner is a person first. They must understand how the company makes money, what motivates customers, how operations work, and how IT organization connects the dots between all those entities.

Obstacles to implementing IT business partnerships

Reliance on outsourcing, Conflicting roles ec.

IT Business Partnership Tools

The Capability Plan (Product Plan), Release Plans and Capability Roadmap, 1-Pager Business Case and detailed business case

For operational projects, the one pager is recommended. It contains:

The project overview: date, description, sponsor, submitted by, business unit, type, description etc.
Justification: Goal alignment, justification/business rationale, degree of alignment, alignment description, benefits, success metrics, dependencies and work around
Benefits: Top line benefit, bottom line benefit, intangible benefits, detailed benefit
Resources: Technical and business resources, skills needed and cost
Decision: Date presented, decision
Form definitions