Leaders: Are you asking the right IT questions?
Information technology may have its own department, but agency leaders and the heads of other departments should know the right questions to ask. A consulting firm offers a list.
Balancing long-term and short-term investments in technology is a key strategy for organizations to become “technology winners," according to McKinsey & Company. Some others:
Identify opportunities and threats over a multi-year plan.
Continually assess capabilities to effectively use technology.
Create accountability for IT activities.
Understand the scope of IT risks.
In making major IT investments, McKinsey & Company warns, there are critical questions that too often go unasked.
Although the management consulting firm's list is aimed at private-sector boards of directors, most of the questions make sense for senior agency leaders as well.
The article suggests these "do-or-die" questions that executives should ask IT managers:
- Do our business plans reflect the full potential of technology to improve our performance?
- Is our portfolio of technology investments aligned with opportunities and threats?
- How will IT improve our operational and strategic agility?
- Do we have the capabilities required to deliver value from IT?
- Who is accountable for IT and how do we hold them to account?
- Are we comfortable with our level of IT risk?
The full list, with additional explanation, can be found on the McKinsey website.
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