Assessing IT Strategic Planning - Essay Example

How do the two UCBs strategic IT plans stack up against the Baldridge criteria for assessing strategic planning? The UC Berkeley Campuswide (UCB) IT Strategic Plan The Information Technology Strategic Plan (2007-08) included in the refreshing targets is focused on the main needs that the entire campus environment has. It begins with introducing the specific campus community needs and challenges in delivery of services. Four aside for needs and challenges areas are itemized in the document which act as the groundbreaker for the rest of the plan. It is from the introduction of the specific needs that the actual policies for strategic plan to run for the highlighted years are clearly given. A separate section is given for the actual trends for the various areas of focus and the approach to be introduced in the strategic plan also provided. The areas of focus for UC Berkeley are provided in a simplified list manner under research, teaching and learning, student experience and administration. After provision of the actual trends in the world of every area, the strategic plan then introduces a second area that represents the actual input in a specific itemized approach. This approach enables the plan drafters to highlight key areas of need and at the same time offer solutions for the specified needs. By highlighting the current trends, it is possible for the drafters to show deviations and provoke action (UC Berkeley, 2008). Perhaps the main striking feature observable across every presentation is the interaction that each of the policy areas has with IT. The University of Colorado at Boulder (UCB) IT Strategic Planning According to the presentation made by the University of Colorado at Boulder (UCB) IT Strategic Planning, a similar approach is adopted by highlighting the main areas of strategic planning needs that define the operations of the university. Four areas of strategic planning that require input have also been given with detailed input also included. In the document, a formal introduction is involved at the beginning with key remarks from the chancellor, associate vice chancellor for IT and CIO and the planning director are included, perhaps to demonstrate the high level importance that the strategic planning document is for the campus. These remarks are aimed at making specific observations on the importance of IT in the highlighted areas of strategic planning within the management area under each of the administrators. Direct narration on teaching and learning; shared resources and support; collaboration and partnerships and governance, budget and communications are the main contents of the main body. Specific areas of input for each of the four areas are highlighted in the detailed strategic policy presentation. One of the most striking features once again is the role of IT involvement in the realization of the appropriate realignment under the new proposed strategic planning regime. For instance, it is clearly outlined for the collaboration and partnerships subheading four issues of IT solutions such as those regarding libraries, housing and dining services (University of Colorado at Boulder, 2010). Baldridge Criteria and Relative Score This is a regulation criterion that requires that institutions update their strategic plans every two years in order to keep in touch with the latest and best trends in the delivery of services in the particular field that they deal in. Under its watch, Baldridge Criteria for Performance Excellence assists in setting up a role model for organizations by formulating certain standards. There is an award system for exceptional performance among organizations. It also assists organizations to assess improvement and highlight their performance. The program highlights high performance in the organizational performance of US institutions and corporate organizations by setting the yardstick and blueprint for quality practices in operations. Setting the criteria for strategic planning in organizational service delivery for education performance excellence as outlined in the Baldridge yardstick include understanding management and against the various strategies that the organization can make towards a number of areas. The organizational environment must be captured in the education setting with much emphasis as strategic situation and relationships are in the policy postulated at the end of regular operating periods. Criteria for performance excellence similarly play a vital point in defining the route to be taken when structuring a winning formula for strategic planning (NIST, 2011). In terms of where these two organizations fall in the criteria, it would be fair to state that their strategic plans for the stipulated years are very responsive to actual challenges in a specific way. It is important that the two organizations highlight specific areas of action through the proposed strategic plan, giving clear input that they wish to implement. By giving specific areas of input in the proposals appears as significant deliberate will to have the organizations respond to the four highlighted areas. In terms of detail, University of Colorado at Boulder looks better than the UC Berkeley. However, it is not sufficient to include a lot of detail in a document that cannot end u being implemented. The limited scope in UC Berkeley may be more practical instead but it will be dependent on the willingness and the available resources to rally IT expertise to turn around the documents into running programs. Do the general principles and strategies of strategic planning apply to IT planning? What may apply, what may not, and why? General vs. IT Strategic Planning General strategic planning practices also apply in IT in various respects but some modifications may need to be incorporated in order to make them applicable. In general strategy, the key theme is the preparedness to tackle certain areas that the organization is not performing well while at the same time maximizing on the benefits of the already running programs (Wirth, 2010). It is not very different in IT strategic planning which also includes making systems run more efficiently through incorporation of technological solutions. In general strategic planning, little information is specified on the technology applications to implement the formulated approaches. However, human input is generally assumed and expected to be the main center of focus for the various proposals under general strategic planning. Due to the various assumptions involving human input, it may become an area of deviation in IT strategic planning since the systems discussed under IT must purely be computer based. Personal interaction with the two types of strategic planning is in the fact that the general strategies within campus regarding the most student experience programs such as those intended to involve students in extra curricular activities are merely general. Long ago I my schooling days, student groups’ initiatives included physical recruitment campaigns and setting membership targets involving manual mobilization. When it came to setting up strategies, there was no mention of an IT system and the resources can attest to that; they are all human input oriented. Recent developments under IT systems in my campus has witnessed computer based approaches, particularly web-based and internet solutions being developed for some of the mentioned aspects of student groups. Creating databases and following up members’ issues for the groups aimed at certain targets with enhanced efficiency works out in many ways. Planning and laying strategies is therefore a huge departure from the old way of managing student’s initiatives and groups. In a similar way, management has moved from merely human input to more technical approaches that involve computer based solutions for the various efficiency enhancement needs. What May Apply and Why? Perhaps the most important aspect of general strategy planning that remains useful in IT strategic planning is human input. Human contribution in planning must always be included in both systems in order to define challenges and formulate strategies to approach them. The reason for applying planning in IT strategic planning is because the systems without human contribution are useless. Observing extra needs for incorporation into the programs must involve human beings since artificial intelligence is not similar to natural intelligence. Human input is the origin of the systems and it must continue being applied for the appropriate positioning to be realized in terms of strategy. What May Not Apply and Why? One striking aspect that is present in general planning and is conspicuously absent in IT strategic planning is sticking to traditional manual ways of handling data and records. Traditional data handling and processing for the various input areas shifts from manual to automatic as enabled by computer based systems. Data collection may to some extent involve manual input but further processing, recording and retrieval is efficiently done without many challenges. References NSIT (2011) “Criteria for Performance Excellence” Retrieved from: http://www.nist.gov/baldrige/publications/business_nonprofit_criteria.cfm UC Berkeley (2008) “Updating UC Berkeley’s Campuswide IT Strategic Plan (2007-08)” Retrieved from: http://technology.berkeley.edu/planning/strategic/pdf/IT_Strategic_Plan_update_02-07-08_draft.pdf University of Colorado at Boulder (2010) “The University of Colorado at Boulder Office of the Associate Vice Chancellor for IT,” Retrieved from: http://www.colorado.edu/ITplan/final%20report%20compilation%2011%205%2010.pdf Wirth, R. A. (2010) “Strategic Planning for the Business of the Future” Retrieved from: http://www.entarga.com/stratplan/index.htm Read More