Is Your IT Aligned With The Business?

By Nicholas Colisto

Year after year, IT survey results inevitably state that one of the top priorities for the coming year will be to align IT with the business. It is as if alignment is some unattainable and mysterious process and IT leaders prefer to avoid it out of fear of failure - or perhaps out of fear of receiving more work as a result. The topic certainly gets a lot of attention and is often the source of many articles and postings - such as this one, as well as presentations at IT conferences. After the requisite Google search, I found 3,300,000 results on the topic!

To make this posting standout and ascend above the rest of the chatter, I will describe what alignment is and precisely how to build it for your organization. That's right, the first practical guide to achieving IT alignment!

According to Control Objectives for Information and related Technology (COBIT), an IT governance framework, strategic alignment focuses on ensuring the linkage of business and IT plans; on defining, maintaining and validating the IT value proposition; and on aligning IT operations with enterprise operations. While COBIT provides the definition of what alignment is all about, I will help explain how you actually get there in the proverbial "real world." There are three stages of alignment: Order taking, Priority setting, and Strategy setting. If you get these right, you will be aligned with your business and be able to answer a resounding "YES, I HAVE ALIGNMENT" in the next CIO survey you receive on the topic.

Top 10 Project Management Trends for 2012

Over the last couple of weeks I have seen many Top X for 2012 lists. The following is my favorite for Project Management Trends...

By ESI PMO Blog

Collaboration Gains Importance as Project Complexity Grows

As the project environment grows in complexity, project management will require team, stakeholder and executive collaboration in 2012 like never before. On-the-job application of training, custom-made project approaches, innovative project tools and smarter resource management will be essential for driving the greatest business impact. Not only project management, but also the definition of “project success” has changed to encompass more than the triple constraint. Collaboration is a common theme throughout many of the 2012 Top 10 Trends for project management, which were determined by a global panel of ESI International senior executives and subject matter experts.

Building A 'Transformational' PMO

By Meridith Levinson

A report from Forrester Research describes the characteristics of next-generation project management offices with real-world advice from leading PMO directors on how to get there.

As companies begin to re-invest in capital projects post recession, project management offices (PMOs) need to gear up to facilitate these new plans. But that doesn't mean they need to adopt more methodology, documentation and process. In fact, many PMOs would be better served by taking a leaner approach to project management, according to a recent report from Forrester Research.

Today's most successful PMOs—the ones with the sustained executive support that help companies complete projects faster—focus on removing obstacles and delivering project management best practices to the entire company, writes Margo Visitacion, a Forrester vice president and principal analyst serving application development and delivery professionals.

Managing Global and Virtual Project Teams

My company is working to expand its market position around the globe. Through the creation of new, carefully selected office locations and actively pursuing targeted acquisitions, my company is expanding its footprint in the United States and abroad. As a result of its expansion, some project managers at my company are struggling to make the transition from a “traditional” project environment where project teams meet face-to-face in conference and war room, to a global and virtual environment. This paper will introduce project managers to the skills and techniques that will assist them in effectively managing and leading global and virtual project teams.