Technology Planning and Implementation

Certificate Core
IT Planning and Implementation

IT Planning and Implementation
Steve Heye
Solution Consultant
NetSuite.org
@steveheye
steveheye.blogspot.com
Tactical Strategic Mission
Planning Most of your needs
revolve around
keeping things
running
Things work well,
many needs focus
on people and
process
People, Process and
Tools all work
together well,
looking for
innovation and
impact technology

Session Objectives
1. Understand your level of technology maturity and
determine where to focus technology expertise
2. Know how to budget effectively for technology by
including all costs (not just the purchase price)
3. Outline ways to build an organizational culture
where technology is included in all planning and
strategy for the organization.
3

Session Objectives
1. Understand your level of technology maturity and
determine where to focus technology expertise
4

Technology Planning is Simple
But there is a difference between
simple and easy.
5
You are
here
Wish you
were
here
1. Determine where you are
2. Get consensus on where you should be
3. Create a plan to fill the gap

IT Basics
Manage
Regular Maintenance & Upgrades,
Help Desk
Onsite & Offsite Backups, Restore
Tested
Plan
Technology Vision and Plan
Business Continuity
 Govern
 Business Process, Project Management,
Change Management
 Policies and Procedures
 Partner in planning
 Enable
 Training and support
 Process improvement

Business System Basics
 Staff Capacity
 Information/Knowledge Management - Intranet
 File Server, SharePoint, Google Sites
 Communications
 Exchange Server, Office365, Google Gmail
 Organization Capacity
 Database
 CRM – Customer Relationship Management
 Enterprise Software

Network Basics
 Network Infrastructure
 Storage, Memory, Processing, Routing
 Maintenance
 Patches, Updates, Upgrades
 Backups
 Safeguarding your data is essential
 Bandwidth
 Internet connectivity is a mission critical need
 Protection
 Practice safe computing by protecting your network and all who
use it
 Acceptable Use Policies
 Permission to discipline those who do not practice safe computing

Options
 On Premise
 Traditional client-server environment
 Cloud
 Software as a Service (SaaS)
 Platform as a Service (PaaS)
 Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
 Hybird
 A little of this and a little of that

12
Strategic
1. Business Process
2. Staff Skills
3. Strategy Begins
Mission
1. Innovation
2. Impact
Tactical
1. Focus is on
keeping things
running
2. Network,
Hardware,
Software
3. Little to No
Strategy

Enterprise
Applications
Business
Applications
Core Business Support
Desktop / Laptop
Infrastructure Management
Help Desk
Servers / Network
E-Mail
• Patch Mgmt • Upgrades
• Anti-Virus • Asset Tracking
• Password Reset • “How
to”
• Equipment failures
• Fault Mgmt • Performance Mgmt
• Configuration • Upgrades
• SPAM
• Upgrades
Value
Commodity
Strategic
Tactical
Technology Hemispheres
13

Make it Happen
Planning Tech Plan = Focus on
a solid foundation
(network, hardware
& software) for
efficiency
Operations Plan =
Integrate tools,
people and process
to improve
effectiveness
Org Strategic Plan =
Align technology and
innovate to make an
impact & add value
Implementing Focus on IT, stability
& basic support
Cross Departmental,
build collaboration &
skills
Change program/
service delivery &
organization culture
Budgeting Replace & upgrade
based on
software/hardware
inventory, build IT
skills
Include process
improvement,
training and support
Allow for
experimentation,
innovation and
technology fund
Infrastructure Infrastructure
& Operations
14

Which area of technology
planning do you need to focus
on? Tactical Strategic Mission
Planning Most of your needs
revolve around
keeping things
running
Things work well,
many needs focus on
people and process
People, Process and
Tools all work
together well,
looking for
innovation and
impact technology
Tactical Tactical
& Strategic
15

1. Inventory (Spiceworks or simple
spreadsheet)
2. Replace, upgrade, add
3. Training, support and consulting
needs
4. Create timeline
NOTE: Get expert help for an audit and/or analysis, consider a
local company or volunteers
Plan Implement Budget
16

• Rely on small teams or
outside resources managed
by one of your staff
• Move commodities to the
cloud
• Use what you have
Key is to shift from fighting fires to being proactive.
Find time to be strategic.
17

• Quotes based on your replacement
and upgrade timeline.
• Distribute expenses to programs or
centralize?
• Leverage your NPO status
*NOTE: set a min. standard for donated tech, old
donations cost more than they help.
18

How do you currently budget for technology?
• No specific tech budget
• Budget for each item to replace
• Budget to replace and for projects
• Fund setup for strategic technology
19

Inventory
Start simple;
draw or take a
picture of your
network.
20

Inventory Spreadsheet
Then add columns for Budget
21

Tech Trap = Seeing past what doesn’t work
Once your tech works, you can think strategy.
What is the biggest business need in your org and what
role can technology play?
22

1. Create Tech Project request
process
2. Set priorities of requested
projects
3. Identify process, policy and skill
changes needed
4. Determine training, support
and consulting needed
5. Create timeline
NOTE: Involve key stakeholders to begin building understanding
& buy-in for technology
S
T
A
F F
23

1. Rely on cross department teams
to change process and policies
2. Training, training, training
3. Stop, Collaborate and Listen
4. Begin business improvement
Key is to balance tools, process and people.
24

1. Investigate a range of solutions for
each project
2. Capital or operations expense?
3. 70/30 rule
4. Fund Projects, Not Technology
25

70 / 30 Rule
Spend 30% on Technology
Nuts, bolts & infrastructure
Spend 70% on People & Support
Training, systems, maintenance
26
Tip:
Don’t wait till you are hungry to
go to the grocery store…

Which of these has been
implemented at your org?
(Select all that apply)
1. Process mapping
2. Formal project management
3. Regular technology training
4. IT Help Desk tracking
5. Technology steering committee
6. None of the above
27

1. Look for ways to impact mission
or change service delivery
2. What can you do differently?
3. Look for emerging technology
NOTE: These will typically be large projects and may take years to
implement. You have to be willing to experiment (and possibly
fail).
28

1. Involve leadership and full organization
2. Changes to org structure, service
delivery and strategic planning
Key is to tie outcomes to meeting mission, not
building organizational capacity.
Mission
Org
29

1. Budget driven by org’s overall
budget and strategic plan, plus
technology plan.
2. Move toward a technology fund
of 2-4% of operating budget.
30

Share a mission strategy you are working on that could
benefit from technology.
31

Technology Planning
1. Look for common questionsproblems
Document mgmt, data, slow computers, etc.
2. Identify themes
Security, innovation, reporting, stability, communications, collaboration, etc.
3. Mission Impact
Get input from the people you serve or look to others in your field
32

Business Process
Intranet
Email
Hardware
Phones
Printers
Desktop
Network
Security
Enterprise Software
Social Media
Website
Email Blast
Policies
Support
Training
Business Continuity
Use a white board, write all of the
parts of your technology 33

34
Topic Strength Weakness Opportunity
Business Process Well Understood Not Documented Document for new
system
Intranet Solid Structure Not Used User Training
Servers Space Available Aging Hardware Move to Cloud
Security Network Strong Endpoint Weak
(user)
Security Policy and
Training
Policies Standard Policies Not enforced Address Culture
Training Management
Trained
End Users Lack
Training
Push Training out to
all Staff
Brainstorm strengths, weaknesses
and opportunities

Session Objectives
2. Know how to budget effectively for technology by
including all costs (not just the purchase price)
35

There’s No Good Way to Budget
--Without a Plan
1. Form a technology team
2. Conduct assessment & research
3. Set goals & strategies
4. Operationalize & prioritize goals
5. Establish budget
6. Write plan
7. Implement
8. Evaluate – revise - update
36

1. Replace – create a schedule, budget by item
2. Upgrade – plan for additions, budget by item
3. Support – 70/30
4. Projects – gather requests & estimate
37
There’s No Good Way to Budget
--Without a Plan

Session Objectives
3. Outline ways to build an organizational culture
where technology is included in all planning and
strategy for the organization.
38

Is technology staff involved
in Strategic Planning?
1. We don’t have a strategic plan
2. Strategic Planning doesn’t include tech staff
3. Strategic Planning mentions tech, but tech staff not
involved
4. Strategic Planning involved Tech Staff
My Note: Being given the strategic plan is not the same as being
involved in the process of creating it.
39

CEO CFO
Program
Staff
Executive
Directors
COO
Membership
Staff
Vision Tactics Budget
ProgramsServicesGoals
Technology
40

CEO CFO
Program
Staff
Executive
Directors
COO
Membership
Staff
Vision Tactics Budget
ProgramsServicesGoals
Technology
41

Source:http://uncw.edu
But where is technology?
42

Technology?
Source:http://uncw.edu 43

Finance Fundraising Operations Program Communication
Executive
Collect
technology
project requests
from across the
organization.
Gather
input and
set
priorities
Set your
budget,
timeline
and plan
Step back and look for Organization wide
trends, needs and possibilities
44

First complete the
Technology capability and maturity assessment
Available on
steveheye.blogspot.com
46

Recommendations
1. Use IT process maturity model not as an end, but
as a means
2. Automate only after good documentation
3. Be “State of the Shelf” Cost ≠ Value
4. Leverage staff across the org, they can be your
best advocate for change
5. Make technology a part of the strategic process
6. Build a Technology Fund
7. Your CEO is your Partner
47

Review
1. Determine where you are
Use the IT Alignment model and a technology inventory
2. Get consensus on where you should be
Create the picture of where you want to be and start to share that
3. Create a plan to fill the gap
Build the strategy for changes across the alignment, relationship and transparency
of technology
48

Finance Fundraising Operations Program Communication
Executive
Technology should not be the focus, so lets
go back to a simple org chart without
technology in it and review each of the
areas. But we will look at them as topic
areas, not positions.
49

Early alignment stages
Strategic plan created to meet
mission
Leadership staff enabled to
create operational plans to
meet strategic plans
Individual departments pass
needs to IT
Late alignment stages
IT included earlier in the process
IT allowed to participate in
understanding the operational
goals
IT offers solutions to meet goals
not individual needs
ExecutiveWhat does alignment look
like at the Executive level?
50

IT purchases approved
individually
Technology purchases reviewed
as expenses
Financial data used to measure
progress against budget
IT strategies approved with a
budget
Technology purchases weighed
against benefit
Financial data not sole reports
to determine success
FinanceWhat does alignment look
like in the Finances?
51

Fin Dev software used as
financial record keeping
Fundraising campaigns
developed by Fin Dev team that
uses email and web to deliver
Individual Fin Dev staff create
own process to work around the
systems to get results
Data analyzed to maximize
donor experience (then tied to
software)
Fundraising campaigns are
developed as a part of full org
communication plan
Fin Dev staff collaborate with IT
to understand business needs
and work together to improve
process
FundraisingWhat does alignment look
like in Fundraising?
52

Individual Depts develop
processes to complete tasks
Data stored and reported as
needed by each staff
Tools and technology selected
as parts of projects
Cross functional teams work to
increase effectiveness in
processes
Data stored and reported on is
tied to measuring objectives in
strategic plan
Tools and technology selected
planned for during full org
operational plan
Operations
What does alignment look
like across the Operations?
53

Work hindered by ineffective
technology
Views IT as team to “fix” all the
technology problems
Makes decisions, then asks IT to
implement
Technology works well enough
to be transparent
Views IT as partner in meeting
the mission
Includes IT in planning to allow
for better outcomes
Program
What does alignment look
like in Program delivery?
54

Unclear who owns website,
email strategy or solely owned
by IT or Marketing
Starts with technology, then
looks to leverage it
Makes decisions, then asks IT to
implement
Cross functional partnership on
communication strategy with
roles to implement it
Define goals first, then
collaborate to pick technology
Includes IT in planning to allow
for better outcomes
CommunicationWhat does alignment look
like in Communications?
55

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