Define Ongoing Initiatives
Review the existing initiatives and adjust to meet the IT Goals
| Introduction |
| Activities |
Introduction
As the IT Division defines its strategic direction (goals, subgoals, and critical factors) a course of action must be established. Actions already underway in the HS Agency may not fully align with the strategic direction, and should be reviewed and adjusted as necessary.
During the analysis of the situation a quick look was made into the existing technology in use and projects underway. These activities take a more thorough accounting and examine the details, leading to an understanding of the purpose and the technical and management accomplishments against plans. An assessment is made of how the existing initiatives align with the new IT Division's strategic direction. This assessment aids both the HS Agency and IT Division's decision makers to reaffirm current direction and initiate any changes that need to be made.
Activities
To define and adjust the ongoing initiatives, the Strategy Team performs the following activities:
1. Identify On-going Initiatives
Purpose:
This activity ensures that the entire set of ongoing initiatives is considered.
Description:
A thorough review of the IT Baseline and Assessment must be conducted to identify all of the on-going initiatives that are currently underway within the IT Division. While most of the on-going initiatives may be maintenance or development oriented, other categories must also be inventoried (see Identify IT Initiatives). Initiatives can be categorized by lifecycle phases or other criteria that the IT Division uses to classify projects.
A list identifying the initiatives with references to sources of information upon which they are based is developed.
2. Describe and Assess Ongoing Initiatives
Purpose:
This activity will describe each of the ongoing initiatives and analyze them against the strategic direction, determining if any adjustments should be made.
Description:
In order to ensure a balanced analysis, each initiative is documented using a standard template (see Identify IT Initiatives). It is essential that the completion of the template includes not only the static information such as name, description, and who the initiative supports organizationally but also the items addressing consistency with the HS Agency level and IT Division level strategic direction.
After each initiative is described and its contribution to the strategic direction is understood, adjustments are considered. Adjustments to the current definition are considered and recorded for consensus among both the HS Agency and IT Division's Decision Makers. One consideration is the future of the current system. such as changes in the underlying technology (e.g., the need to migrate to a new technology to enable future growth). Decisions on each initiative can be described as follows:
- Continue as defined
- Change performance parameters - such as budget, schedule, effort
- Redefine the purpose or requirements for the initiative (e.g., technology base)
- Terminate the initiative, possibly reallocating a portion of its purpose into another existing or new initiative