Context

Organizations, Companies are fully concerned by Information and Communication Technologies.
Strategy is deeply implied, with B2B and B2C relations, Organization is concerned, workforce is a mighty stakeholder, Knowledge Management is central, …
In the same context, Governance of Information Technologies is now key: properly align Information Systems and IT projects with business, control costs and spend less, focus on risks and security, make IT projects successful, …
What knowledge any executive must have on these topics, without becoming a specialist and ahead basic information everybody has…?

Does IT really matter? What are the rules of a modern IT governance?

                                 This course will be lectured by Jean-François David 

Participants

Any future executive

Objectives

Provide models and practical methods to enable any future executive to understand Information Systems challenges and IT use,  and/or manage any strategic or daily implementation of IT project in various environments.

Planning

Jean-François David  on IT Governance
Introduction, main concepts
IT and Strategy
IT and Organization
IT and Projects
IT and Knowledge
IT and Cultures
Models and Methods

Course Content

- Introduction, main concepts
- Information and Knowledge
- Technology trends.
- IT stable rules and new waves
- e-Biz now and to-morrow
- IT vs Organization vs Cultures
- KM
- Projects, Dvpt, Production
- Governance, Measurements, Quality

Introduction          
- First mover, competitive advantage or Carr's "IT does not matter" ?
- Spend less,  don't lead but follow, focus on vulnerabilities?
- MIT IT Governance study showing IT governance-gross profit correlation
- Main companies issues in 95, in 00, in 06 , some changes…
- Mass customization issues
First concepts      
- Organization vs Technologies vs People
- Strategic Alignment framework
- Strategies - Technologies - Organization (processes, structures, people) - Projects
- First definition of IT governance inside Companies governance
- Alignment, Efficiency, Risks, Security, Change Mgt, Cost Mgt, Value delivery, ….
- Introduction to Cobit framework
Some consequences of  general system theories      
- Basics on System theory, what is a system
- Organization seen as systems
- Intelligence of organization: speed of adaptation. Time based strategies.
- Conflicts structures - processes. Vertical vs horizontal. Matrix organizations.  Inter-communication
- Systemic explosion of internal communication
- Limited ability of human to absorb information (cognitive science, short term memory, …)
- Queues of information, data vs information, individual prioritization strategies
- 5 enterprise scenarios in front of information overload
- Integration way, from Japanese CIM to ERPs
ICT megatrends (will be treated in depth for IMBA by M. Wodecki) 
- Moore's,  Guilder's, Metcalfe's "laws"
- Evocation of nanotubes, RFID's, Autonomic computing, Grid computing, Virtualization, Ubiquity, …
- Man/Machine interface challenges, Artificial intelligence, Neural networks, Agents and Robots
- Some key permanent IT/IS problems (this chapter is optional)
- Data problem, vocabulary, DB, content management
- Communication problems, OSI 7 layers, syntactic level vs semantic level
- Balance  finished product vs auto-adaptive system
- IT productivity and governance
IT and Strategy                
- From Porter to Hypercompetition
- New frameworks
- Service innovation
- Emerging technologies / Innovative ideas synergy
- Diversification vs refocusing
- Methodologies: Paradigm change, Services/technologies matrix, Benefit/risks decisions, Prototyping
IT and Organization                
- Value chain and processes
- Prioritization technique for IT projects (Hoshin Kanri)
- BPM
- The 5 "new" macro-processes (CRM, SCM, ERP, BI, KM) and list of main processes
- IT vendors products "mapping" on processes
- Extended value chain (in B2B), e-design, e-supply, e-sourcing, e-procurement, e-billing, …
- Hoshin Kanri Methodology to prioritize processes vs BSC, to prioritize projects
- Dependency/Influence methodology to disentangle complex relationships
- ABC like methodology (structure vs processes matrix) to study cross-functionality
- Basic Mintzberg organization typology and life cycle  (optional)
- What is an ERP, SAP modules
IT Governance          
- Some definitions. CIO priorities
- Cobit model and implementation
- CMMI, ITIL, Cobit positioning, Zoom on CMMI, Zoom on ITIL
- IT Governance MIT Study.
- The 5 levels (IT principles, IT Architecture, IT infrastructure, Application needs, IT prioritization)
- Governance archetypes (Business Monarchy, IT Monarchy, Feudal, Federal, Duopoly, Anarchy)
- Best practices
- Quality concepts, EFQM framework
- IT Contracts, Q indicators, Productivity, Function points, COQ, Application portfolio management
- CIO scorecard and processes
KM             
- KM inside Mc Kinsey 7S, KM definition, Data-Information-Knowledge, key reasons for KM
- Tacit and Explicit K, Nonaka cycle. Embodied-Represented-Embedded K.
- Management of K. Sense, Organize, Socialize, Internalize.
- KM processes and IT tools mapping
- KM and cognitive styles, Serialist-Wholist, Verbal-Visual, …
- KM and e-learning challenges
IT projects       
- What is a project. Basic project management tools. Specificity of IT projects.
- The 3 layers of IT project management: Lead the project, Achieve the project, role of Project Memory
- IT Project planning, Quality control, key role of Change management
- IT Project failure ratio, Standish group studies, Reasons for failures
- Waterfall methodology, V-Cycle vs Boehm spiral cycle. Prototyping.
- RAD and agile organizations? JAD
- Conditions for  successful IT projects
Mass Customization         
- Mass Customization framework. Dynamic stability.
- MC cycle: Innovation, Mass Production, Transformation, Mass Customization
- Some applications: to Strategy, Quality, Processes, Web sites, …
Cultures and informal networks  
- The 15 Carnegie-Mellon criteria
- The 4 cultural quartiles. Change management cycle. Sharing culture.
- Informal networks vs organizational charts
- Community of practices. IT role

Business cases:

Real cases coming from some french companies (SGCIB, Eli Lilly, Renault, …), an SME case, …


Teaching Methods

Formal lectures to motivate on the sub-topic, multi-faces business cases, many real life examples from various sectors, some methodological exercises (IT balanced scorecard, culture benchmark, IT quality assessment, ..), and discussions.

Knowledge acquired

Full understanding of information systems' role within organizations and society.
Full knowledge about technological tendencies, about laws governing IT and IT markets.
Awareness, beyond the IT potential, of the complexity of the relations between information technologies, organization and human aspects. Ability to build a personal not simplistic opinion on this subject.
Understanding of IT Governance principles (alignment, cost control, risk control, project portfolio, ...),  in connection with corporate governance
Knowledge of  strategic alignment models (strategy, technologies, processes, organization, cultures, projects,…). Full appropriation of connected methodologies.
Full understanding of IT main fallacies, before and after "Internet bubble". E-biz positioning.
Knowledge of the real potential of IT, awareness of  the traps in the implementations.
Ability to discuss, with the culture and the adequate vocabulary, with computer specialists.
Capability of disentangling  a certain truth, beyond the speeches of the "salesmen" and IT gurus
Awareness, through customers' testimonies, of  "real life" IT and IT governance problems and solutions in various sectors

Evaluation

Group's contribution for business cases, individual assignments, personal contributions during the whole course