175. An information technology operational plan answers all the following questions except:
a. How do we get there?
b. When will it be done?
c. What is our goal?
d. Who will do it?
175. c. The IT operational plan describes how the organization will implement the strategic plan. Usually, the operational plan answers the following questions: How do we get there? When will it be done? Who will do it? The strategic plan answers the question: What is our goal?
176. Which of the following meets the criteria for an IT strategic plan?
a. Developing enterprise information technology models
b. Initiating work process redesign
c. Conducting business systems planning
d. Assessing internal and external environment
176. d. The IT strategic planning is long-range thinking. Planners apply analytic techniques, creativity, and sound judgment to anticipate the requirements of the future. The strategic planning approach provides a framework for bounding the scope and presenting the results of long-range thinking. A strategic planning approach should foster strategic thinking and innovation, assess the organization’s mission, vision, and strategies, define the IT mission, vision, and goals, and assess the internal and external environment. Internal influences are those that have implications for managing the organization such as customers, competitors, contractors, vendors, and user organizations (i.e., internal environment). External influences are broad in scope, often imposed from the outside environment, and uncontrollable by the organization. An organization derives its challenges and opportunities from external influences such as financial community, governments, and industry (i.e., external environment).
The other three choices are examples of IT approaches to augment the development of strategic plans and include enterprise IT models, work process redesign, and business systems planning. Enterprise models provide a means for examining the current environment. They do not foster the development of an organizational direction (i.e., mission and vision). Hence, they do not meet the criteria for strategic planning.
Work process redesign is synonymous with the following concepts: business re-engineering, business process improvement, and business process design. This approach helps managers to define relationships and activities within the organization. Business systems–planning is used to identify information requirements but does not consider strategic methodologies. Information planning approaches do not study organizational cultural issues or provide a strategic work focus.
177. Which of the following is not an example of IT mission statements?
a. Streamlining work processes through automation
b. Maintaining reliability and timeliness of information
c. Anticipating technological advances and problems
d. Minimizing the cost to the organization by using information technology efficiently
177. b. Maintaining reliability and timeliness of information is a goal statement. Goals specify objectives that support the organization’s mission. The IT mission supports the organization’s mission provided in its strategic plan. The IT mission statement identifies the basic concept of IT, the reason IT exists, and how IT supports the organization’s mission. The IT mission statement may be examined three times during the planning process: at the beginning, after analyzing the current environment, and at the end. The IT organization collects, manages, controls, disseminates, and protects the information used by the organization.
IT supports the organization’s mission by streamlining work processes through automation, anticipating technological advances and problems, and minimizing the cost to the organization by using IT efficiently.
178. An information technology operational plan does not include:
a. Risk assessment
b. Project descriptions
c. Project resource estimates
d. Project implementation schedules
178. a. Risk assessment is part of the IT strategic plan along with mission, vision, goals, environmental analysis, strategies, and critical success factors. Typically a strategic plan covers a 5-year time span and is updated annually. IT operational planning begins when strategic planning ends. During operational planning, an organization develops a realistic implementation approach for achieving its vision based on its available resources.
The IT operational plan consists of three main parts: project descriptions, project resource estimates, and project implementation schedules. Depending upon its size and the complexity of its projects, an organization may also include the following types of documents as part of its operational plan: security plan summary, information plans, and information technology plans.
179. The scope of the information technology tactical plan does not include:
a. Budget plans
b. Application system development and maintenance plans
c. Technical support plans
d. Service objectives
179. d. The scope of an IT tactical plan includes budget plans, application system development and maintenance plans, and technical support plans, but not service objectives. This is because service objectives are part of the IT operational plan along with performance objectives. Operational plans are based on the tactical plan but are more specific, providing a framework for daily activity. The focus of operational plans is on achieving service objectives.
Effective plans focus attention on objectives, help anticipate change and potential problems, serve as the basis for decision making, and facilitate control. IT plans are based on the overall organization’s plans. The IT strategic, tactical, and operational plans provide direction and coordination of activities necessary to support mission objectives, ensure that the IT meets user requirements, and enable IT management to cope effectively with current and future changing requirements. Detailed plans move from abstract terms to closely controlled implementation schedules.
Tactical plans span approximately 1 year’s time. Tactical plans address a detailed view of IT activities and focus on how to achieve IT objectives. Tactical plans include budgetary information detailing the allocation of resources or funds assigned to IT components. Often, the budget is the basis for developing tactical plans.
180. An important measure of success for any IT project is whether the:
a. Project was completed on time
b. Project was completed within budget
c. Project manager has conserved organizational resources
d. Project has achieved its projected benefits
180. d. One of the critical attributes for successful IT investments requires that organizations should use projected benefits, not project completion on time and within budget as important measures of success for any IT project. Business goals should be translated into objectives, results-oriented measures of performance, both quantitative and qualitative, which can form the basis for measuring the impact of IT investments. Management regularly monitors the progress of ongoing IT projects against projected cost, schedule, performance, and delivered benefits. It does not matter whether the project manager has conserved organizational resources as long as the project has achieved its projected benefits. Achievement of the (remaining two) choices does not automatically achieve the project’s projected benefits.