August 20

Earlier this week, I picked up a rental car, and a small sign caught my eye. “Because of a system enhancement, we are unable to issue refunds due from cash deposits until August 13. We value your business and appreciate your patience…”, etc., etc., etc.

My reaction was disgust. IT is often blamed for a wide variety of problems, sometimes deservedly so. However, when was the last time anyone saw a sign that said “Because of a system enhancement, we’re saving millions, and to celebrate, we’re giving all customers $10 at the counter until the end of the month.”? Or how about a sign at your office front door that said, “Because IT has implemented a new client measurement system, we know how to sell more to our best customers, and to celebrate, we’ll increase employee bonuses by 10% this year.”? I don’t expect any of you will write to tell me you’ve seen this.

It’s common to hear about the IT disasters, but successes get little press. My late father used to say, “Do good work and they will come.” I’ve learned to ask, “But what if nobody knows it?”

Publish Good News

This series began following a client’s request to help communicate the value of IT to the business. Over the course of this series, we’ve talked about several ways to think about and measure IT’s value. For this last installment, let me take a broader view and include some suggestions on communicating value.

First, you have to know what your value is, and you have to choose appropriate measures. Best practice is to derive these from your strategic plans. At the least, choose metrics that reflect issues important to your internal (and perhaps external) customers.

Second, set standards where appropriate. If you’re going to manage to a goal with a measurement, you have to know when you’re reached it. This can be a service level agreement (e.g., 90% of incidents resolved within 4 hours) or a target (90% satisfaction). You may not have standard, particularly if you’re first learning where you stand.

Third, consider benchmarks as a way of comparing how your IT support compares to the industry. Gartner and other industry analysts have some operational benchmarks. Consider also Benchnet (the Benchmarking Exchange) , which has IT and business process benchmarks, and APQC, a member-based process improvement and benchmark sharing organization.

Fourth, start collecting. Go back in history if you can. Trends are important.

Fifth, you’ll need some case studies and testimonials from inside your company to put a human touch on how IT supports business activity. Build and collect these with every new application or application upgrade, at a minimum.

Finally, you’ll need a communications plan. Consider your audiences, consider your measurement frequency, and decide on the communications media. Some ideas:

• An annual or semi-annual report with metrics, standards, case studies, and your values on measurement.
• Annual or semi-annual dashboards – even printed wallcharts – that present strategic measurements and standards. These should derive from your strategic planning and governance processes.
• Monthly or quarterly dashboards, again possibly wallcharts, that present tactical measurements and standards. Some may derive from strategic planning, but others may derive from the operational IT processes you have to succeed at to be considered good (helpdesk stats, feature requests handled,…).
• Monthly or quarterly email messages to convey the highlights of IT’s successes, failures, and approaches to doing better.

Commit to your plan and make sure you execute. If you show the truth and commit to measuring value, you’ll start down a path of improvement, and you’ll have demonstrable evidence of IT value.

Again, what you measure and present should tie in to your governance model, your strategic plan, and your user community’s sense of what’s important to them. Otherwise, you may manage to goals that don’t align with the business.

As always, we’ll be happy to assist.

Just Published

The CEO Refresher, a subscription web magazine, published our article “Ready, Fire, Aim! Do You Know What You’re Shooting For As You Revamp or Implement CRM?” in the August, 2007 issue. The guide is a guide to thoughtful CRM assessment based on your business.

Read it this month at no charge. The article will be archived at the end of the month but will remain available on our website.