Alignment Traps to Avoid

When discussing the role of IT in any organization, it is important to take a step back and look at the organization itself. When we hear of alignment problems between IT and the rest of the enterprise, this invariably betrays fundamental flaws in the thought processes surrounding what an organization is and how it is structured and managed.

Viewed this way, alignment is not an IT problem: It is, rather, a management problem, for it is management that is responsible for meeting goals and objectives.

To explain, we must first establish some common terms and set the proper context. An organization, commercial or not, is a system comprised of functional areas purposefully assembled to attain a goal or goals. If there isn’t at least one goal, then there isn’t a system because there is no unifying direction.

Threats to Objectives and Goals

Goals are needed to shape the actions of the functional areas. From a management perspective, functional-area objectives must be established so that actions can be coordinated toward achieving the organization’s goal. Goal-oriented activity is the definition of productivity.

IT enables functional areas to attain their objectives. IT plays a supporting role and works through other functional areas by using technology to act as a force-multiplier to improve productivity. This activity must be performed by working with the other areas. It cannot happen without sufficient involvement of IT personnel, as opposed to IT “pushing” technology at the functional areas in the hopes of improving productivity. Functional areas also must play a vital role, engaging IT and ensuring that proper requirements are understood so that services can be properly developed (or purchased) to meet these needs.

At the same time, risks to these functional area objectives and organizational goals need to be understood and properly managed, for risks introduce threats to objectives and goals. So while management can set direction, dangers and problems can arise that affect whether objectives are attained and thus impact the entity’s success.

To counter this, properly architected controls must be implemented. Essentially, controls are processes that serve to manage variation and thus reasonably assure stakeholders that outcomes will fall within an acceptable range as defined by management.

Extending on the above we can identify the following traps to avoid:

Improper goals – An entity needs to identify why it exists. If it can’t, then there are very real problems from the outset. The acronym “SMART” for specific, measurable, realistic and time-bound construction of goals and objectives can help people think about how goals should be structured.

Additionally, not only must goals be clear and readily understandable, they also must be clearly communicated. If more than one goal is identified for an organization, then the goal framework also must be properly constructed for internal consistency.

Improper objectives – Functional areas need objectives that support the attainment of the entity’s goals. If objectives do not support the goal, then resources and time are wasted -- and the goal jeopardized. Far too often objectives are not intentionally designed to support the overall attainment of the goal.

More Alignment Traps to Avoid

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