"A human being is a part of the whole, called by us "Universe," a part
limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as
something separated from the rest ? a kind of optical delusion of his
consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our
personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us.
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of
compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its
beauty.
Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such
achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner
security."
? Albert Einstein.
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Two excellent papers to help establish "accountability" for Business and IT
planning -- in any environment !!!
Read on ...
_________________________________________________________
a) The two GAO best practice research studies (i.e. guidance papers) below
provide an excellent discussion about business planning (the first paper) and
then IT mgmt and IT planning (the second paper).
The GAO publishes more than 2000 reports a year and these two papers (below)
are in my view in the "top 5" from the past 10 years !!!
b) Also, (very important) just because they are written for the government
environment does not mean they are not relevant to the private sector - i.e.
name a private sector organization that has more challenges and issues (for IT
to deal with) than the US federal
government.
c) Finally, David McClure's 1994 GAO IT Best Practice guidance (the second
paper below) remains one of the best papers I have ever read regarding IT
management
- (& I've read a few papers over the years).
Enjoy - & (pass this one on.)
Thanks.
Dan
www.securitybenchmark.com
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/Dans_SECemails/
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/Dans_CCCemails/
______________________________________________________
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the
opportunity in every difficulty". ? Sir Winston Churchill.
"Cherish your vision; Cherish your ideals; Cherish the music that stirs in your
heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your
purest thoughts. If you remain true to them, your world will at last be built".
- James Allen.
"Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention,
sincere effort, intelligent direction, and skillful execution; it presents the
wise choice of many alternatives." - Willa A. Foster.
_______________________________________________________
1. You should (MUST?) ensure your budgeting efforts (particularly
in the IT area) are driven by your business planning.
The GAO has published an excellent paper on this subject titled: "Executive
Guide: Effectively Implementing the Government Performance and Results Act".
This fundamental guidance (i.e. that we need to define our mission, mandate,
and goals "first") is
available at:
http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/gg96118.pdf
GAO published an executive guide on implementing
the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA).
GAO noted that:
(1) GPRA forces federal agencies to focus on their missions and goals, how to
achieve them, and how to improve their structural organizations and business
processes;
(2) agencies must define their missions and desired outcomes, use strategic
planning, involve stakeholders, assess their environments, and align their
activities, core processes, and resources to support mission-related outcomes;
(3) agencies need to measure their performance to ensure that they are meeting
their goals and making informed decisions;
(4) performance measures need to be based on program-related characteristics
and performance data must be sufficiently complete, accurate, and consistent;
(5) agencies must use performance data to improve organizational processes,
identify performance gaps, and set improvement goals; and
(6) GPRA success depends on strong leadership practices that devolve
decisionmaking authority with accountability, create incentives, build
expertise, and integrate management reforms.
_______________________________________________________
2. You must also get your information technology efforts "in order" - i.e.
check out GAO's landmark guidance report entitled: "Executive Guide: Improving
Mission Performance Through Strategic Information Management and Technology"
which is available at:
http://archive.gao.gov/t2pbat3/151707.pdf
Background: Making government more effective and efficient is a national issue.
Today's information systems offer the government unprecedented opportunities to
provide higher quality services
tailored to the public's changing needs. Unfortunately, federal agencies have
not kept pace with evolving management practices and skills necessary to
(1) precisely define critical information needs and
(2) select, apply, and control changing information technologies.
The result, in many cases, has been wasted resources,
a frustrated public unable to get quality service,
and a government ill-prepared to measure and manage
its affairs in an acceptable, businesslike manner.
_______________________________________________________
In closing, if there are two documents you read this year from me it should be
these two papers) !!!!!!
(full stop).
________________________________________________________
Enjoy,
Dan
www.securitybenchmark.com
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/Dans_SECemails/
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/Dans_CCCemails/
"The most important contribution management needs
to make in the 21st century is to increase the productivity of knowledge work
& the knowledge
worker." - Peter F. Drucker.
The 2006 Mid Canada Information Technology Conference
www.midcanitc.com
Achieving Operational Excellence
www.tripwire.com/compliance/
Auditing Information Security
infosecuritymag.techtarget.com/articles/october00/features3.shtml
Auditing System Conversions
www.theiia.org/ITAudit/index.cfm?act=itaudit.archive&fid=5495
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