Northwest Chapter of the Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP)

December 2nd 2008, Outback Steakhouse, Bloomington, Minnesota
Speaker: Todd Penny - The Pennell Group

Solving the tactical business and IT alignment problem by applying operations management theory to tracking and managing IT costs.

The two main objectives of operations management are to increase operational efficiency and to reduce operational costs. (Cohen, M. A. and H. L. Lee. 1985)

It’s a disappointing fact for many CEOs & CFOs that IT organizations frequently struggle to effectively forecast, track and manage the level of IT investment required by the business and the actual returns achieved by those investments. Since for most businesses, staffing and professional services are the largest cost components, it follows that a robust and comprehensive methodology and tool set will have a great impact in this area.

From Keeping the Lights On, to Strategic Capital Investments to Customer Projects and necessary overhead many organizations lack adequate forecasting and tracking tools which could enable them to confidently and consistently demonstrate the value and cost of IT to the CFO & CEO and therefore reduce the alignment gap which typically exists in organizations.

This lively presentation walks through a real-world case study where these concepts and tools were designed and applied as part of a major change initiative resulting in a dramatic business improvement.

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