Itm 423 Mod 1 Case

The Challenges of planning IT systems

ITM423 Syst. Acquisition, System Development, and Project Management

Dr. X

Planning projects for IT systems

After working in the Information Technology business for fifteen years now, I have seen a quite a few projects come and go. I have seen more projects slip to the right for one reason or another. There will always be problems and challenges to overcome with the execution any project, big and small. To get a better understanding of IT system-planning process one must pick a process methodology. Then understand the prerequisites when conducting that strategic systems project planning. Understand pitfalls and challenges such as scope creep that you can and likely will encounter in during the steps of the chosen process. Finally, to overcome the challenges, look to lessons learned and best practices some experts have faced during previous projects. When thinking of IT systems planning, I am reminded of my first boss within the IT industry, he was very non - confrontational and would use the idiom “six of one, and half a dozen of the other”, when deciding how to do something. This statement is also true to system planning, there are many ways to go about it; you just need to pick one.

Strategic Systems Planning Methodology

Starting at the top level of planning you need to think, Strategic and long term. Strategic Systems Planning (SSP) is the methodology used to accomplish this. SSP allows for the study and analysis of an organization’s informational needs, identification of opportunities and the development of the plan on how to address the identified needs. This level of planning will take place with an organization’s senior management and not the IT department and that staff alone. With this type of planning, concern is with entire organization, examining business functions and finding ways to improve business practices. SSP affects business process engineering, technology...