It Planning at Modmeters

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But for ModMeters, a unique funding method can be used that allows the company to prioritize projects and fund those projects that rank higher in priority. Therefore, to fix the current mess, the easiest method would be to go back to the design stage where a better design could be implemented. This method would cost more money and new budget would have to be drafted, but would ensure that the unique product would be implemented with the use of the new IT tools that are accepted to be the market standards. The budget made for the Green project should be halted and then put to use to disentangle the mess of the IT. Then more budget to be drafted that is strict so that no more extra spending is made. If the budget used for the current resources being used is stopped, then wastage of resources will not occur.

There is the need for ModMeters to establish an IT Steering Committee. The IT Steering Committee would help in managing the involvement of the designated professionals in information systems decision making. The committee should be made of representatives from the functional areas, the CEO, CIO and other important IS personnel who must meet regularly to provide guidelines and instructions to the IS and IT by sharing the responsibility of the projects that are in the interests of the firm. Without the IT Steering Committee, the project will fall apart again. This committee is basically the place where business cases are presented for approval, or as a precursor before the budgeting process. The steering committee the one who evaluates the progress during system development and implementation.

To prioritize projects with diverse types of value, there is the need to develop a well-defined business case. The following aspects help in finding and maintaining different values in a business case. Three is a need to define Business Drivers and Investment Objectives; Identifying Benefits, Measures, and Owners; Identifying Organizational Changes that enable Benefits and help to Determine the Value of each Benefit as a standalone; Identify Costs and Risks.

After determining the risk of each proposed project, the IT Steering Committee should do a portfolio management to determine the information systems risk management.

- What do you believe would be the optimal governance structure for the IS function at ModMeters. Why?

The optimal governance structure for the IS function at ModMeters should be designed in a manner such that the IT resources are placed and used appropriately. Any governance structure comprises of 2 key aspects namely IT risk governance which supervises the process related to reducing security risks or threats and implementation failures and second IT value governance that is related to decisions that vie for maximizing IT investment value.

Any organization need not evaluate every project, but they still need to develop a proper framework for a decision-making system. But, there are 5 key risks that Modmeters must monitor and evaluate for the proper functioning of the governance structure for the IS. The board of directors at ModMeters should proactively search, analyze, evaluate and mitigate these areas of risk. The first risk is about IT competence which is about the IT-related knowledge of the board of directors at ModMeters. Although the board does not need to be as knowledgeable as the CIO or IT personnel, it is most important that they have the ability to understand and keep up with the IT discussions and ask relevant questions. Lastly, it is not compulsory bunt useful to have an IT director who maintains an up-to-date document and information on all IT related matters. Infrastructure risk deals with the IT elements that are used and managed by the IT personnel which provides organization wide services. The risks and weaknesses of the firm’s infrastructure should be evaluated and contingencies should be developed in the event of a breach or a natural disaster. The governance structure for the IS function should be the one that not only knows but also evaluates and records this risk. Any IT project is prone to failure. If the project is not handled correctly, then the organization as the whole will suffer. Business continuity means that the firm’s activities perform correctly to ensure that critical business functions are operational in a crisis, and that the organization can withstand any unanticipated disasters. The board of directors need to safeguard a business continuity plan and that the plan is periodically tested and revised. Lastly, there is the Information risk that is related to the collection, organization and analysis of organizational and customer data. The governance system should make sure that one officer of the organization is responsible for signing authorization and ensuring assent with the already established privacy and security policies.

Besides searching for, evaluating and mitigating these risks, the governance structure should also ensure that the IT resources being used are aligned with the policies, priorities and strategies decided by the organization. The organization should have formalized management that is involved in the IS decisions by creating a steering committee. The Steering Committee should comprise of representatives from the various functional areas like the CEO and key IS professionals who need to meet regularly to guide the IS. This committee is basically the place where business cases are presented for approval, or as a precursor before the budgeting process. The steering committee the one who evaluates the progress during system development and implementation.

The governance structure should account for and fund information systems assets and expenses. The yearly budgeting process is another tool the governance structure needs to use to use to communicate plans and enforce control systems of the organization. It acts as a planning tool by providing an assessment of what the organization believes future financial flows and market scenarios will be. It also behaves as a control mechanism which helps in encouraging the project development team to do their best. But, more shrewdly, the budget can be used to allocate decision rights and power among the professionals in the organization.

If these areas are properly assessed and used then it will be the optimal governance structure for the IS function at ModMeters. The It governance structure would require these major risks to be assessed and taken into consideration for contingencies. The governance structure of ModMeters also had issues with communication. But, if the above-mentioned risks are thought of, then the governance structure made would become the framework of the company and would be optimal as it would have been designed for ModMeters by taking into thought