Aligning IT Vision with Business Perspective
Written by
David Goodrich
Friday, Mar 20, 2009Why is it that there is so much tension between IT and business units in many corporations? The obvious answer is that the respective visions are neither mutual nor aligned. IT members may feel that business units are unclear with their specifications and are unwilling to follow best practices. Business members may see IT members as unresponsive and even rebellious. Un-alignment breeds distrust and decreased communication. If the answer to the aforementioned question is obvious, perhaps the practical solution is as well: align IT to the business. Doing so, however, does not seem to be an easy undertaking.
A few years ago I worked as a software developer for Rx Solutions, Inc. (RSI), a small startup company in Tampa, Florida. RSI was in the business of processing workers’ compensation claims. The visionary CEO Ian Campbell chose as his bottom line patient recovery rather than profit. He determined that the model used by most processors, processing all claims with little oversight, was not only detrimental to the health of the patient (since different doctors often prescribed medications that interacted negatively), but was also detrimental to the employers of these patients (drug interactions cause longer recovery times and more prescriptions which, of course, were paid for by the employer). Insurance companies benefited from his program because the research RSI performed was very good at identifying fraudulent claims by patients, doctors and pharmacies. Ian’s vision was fixed on his bottom line (i.e. patient recovery). All RSI employees, even the software developers, had the understanding that our job was to help patients recover, thereby helping patients regain their productivity, thereby saving employers from extended workers’ compensation claims, while also helping insurance companies cut long term cost by reducing fraud.
How does this tie into aligning IT to the business? Ian understood that in most companies software developers work with little to no interaction with the business side of the corporation. So Ian made it a policy that software developers would not only team up with people in the call center, the finance department and the sales department, but that we learn and perform these jobs (albeit in a limited role) using existing processes in each department and using the software we had created. Team members would then meet and discuss their experiences and how to use them to help IT align its software systems to better meet the needs of business users. RSI’s software developers gained a thorough understanding of RSI’s business intricacies, and business unit managers gained a higher than average awareness of software development. As a result, Ian was able to build a workers’ compensation processing company that became an industry leader.
The model adopted by RSI is essential in today’s competitive market. For the business side, software development is expensive and becomes more so when developers (whether in-house or outsourced) make incorrect assumptions about the business resulting in an end product that falls short of the envisioned design, sometimes to the point where the product is barely usable. Pairing software developers with business units, and training them to do some aspect of the business unit, gives software developers a clear insight into the needs, stresses, and problems faced by the business. For developers, while this model will provided you with more insight into the needs of the business, it will also allow you to help business units understand how IT, especially in-house IT, is essential for the growth and success of the business. Aligning IT with the business results in a more streamlined business, meaning: fewer software development problems, less expensive software development projects, and faster, yet more accurate, development of needed software systems.
Now, I could be like many who point their fingers at IT and stop here, end of story. However, for this model to be truly beneficial, business analysts and key business managers must reciprocate. To gain the best benefit from their IT resources, business managers must spend time sitting with, and working with their IT counterparts and with the software developers. This time should be spent observing and asking questions. Please be advised that the developers may at first be suspicious and resentful at this intrusion. Over time, as business managers demonstrate a genuine interest, and a willingness to learn, these feelings will recede and business managers will be able to gain a better understanding of the IT perspective.
Mutual pairing of developers with business employees and business managers with IT facilitates communication and fosters trust between these crucial business elements. Open communication fosters increased interaction. When in house software developers and business managers have a clear understanding of the needs and perspectives of each other, true synergy can result and IT will be truly aligned with the needs of the business.