ALIGNMENT THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY: AGGRESSIVELY MANAGING RISK

by Robert N. Charette, Director, Risk Management Intelligence Network, Cutter Consortium

If your organization has crafted a winning business strategy but cannot implement it, or possesses superb implementation capability but has a vague and ill-defined business strategy, don't be surprised to find that a business-IT misalignment problem exists.

A frequently overlooked area in both the creation of business strategy and the development of IT systems is the application of aggressive, enterprise-wide risk management practices. Simply put, risk management is the iterative and continual process of identifying potential problems, understanding the implications involved of these potential problems occurring, and -- when the consequences of potential problems are unacceptably high -- selecting alternative courses of action to reduce or eliminate the consequences.

Leading companies know risk management's value and diligently practice an aggressive form of the process that encompasses the enterprise as a whole, from IT projects to strategic planning and marketing. This approach creates an integrated, three-dimensional view of risk that allows companies to identify aggressively the sources of IT-business misalignment and ruthlessly move to eliminate them.

Aggressive risk management allows problems that flow from the business to the project (and vice versa) to be addressed in unison rather than as disparate, disembodied, disruptive efforts. Issues affecting alignment are openly communicated, leading to fewer "surprises" for those involved in developing business strategy or IT projects. Because changes involving either business strategy or technology are continually assessed, opportunities to improve alignment can also be quickly exploited.

If your company suffers from a case of business-IT misalignment, consider improving your routine risk management. At the very least, it should identify the sources of misalignment early on so that your company can address them before they turn into problems.

-- Robert N. Charette, Director, Risk Management Intelligence Network, Cutter Consortium