Develop a list of questions you would ask the officers of the company

Subject: Assignment 8 (Due: February 5, 2010, before 01:00pm)
fast forward ..., you were hired and have been tasked to develop a strategic information systems plan for a company. The company officers have extended an invitation for you to meet with them to discuss the direction of the company. Before this meeting, they have asked that you provide a list of questions with some explanation about the "why" of the question so they can be prepared, thus maximizing the output from this meeting.
Develop a list of questions you would ask the officers of the company and give an explanation and justification for each question.

Strategic information systems planning for me, is the process of identifying a portfolio of computer-based applications that will assist an organization in executing its business plans and realizing its business goals Strategic information systems planning is an important activity for helping information executives and top management identify strategic applications and align IT with business needs. Previous researchers and practitioner observers have identified measures of successful SISP and have recommended many prescriptions for achieving success.

These are my questions:

What are the goals and objectives of the company?
Goals indicate the intended future direction of the state, agency, or program. Having a review of the organization’s mission, goal is a step to know how to improve and to elevate the efficiency and effectiveness of the business process. It defines the major IT objectives. Its like taking a wide look around at what's going on outside the organization.


What are the strengths of the company?
It would determine the strong point of the company also it would help determine what things should be given much attention and what things should be given less attention.


What are the weaknesses of the company?
It would help know what were the customer needs and the workers need. It would determine the weak point of the company also it would help determine what things should be given less attention and what things should be given much attention.


What are the opportunities of the company?
It determines the competitive environment and the competitive information opportunities. It also defines strategic information needs. It would also help identify the opportunities for improvement


What are the threats of the company?
Knowing the threats will determine what to improve and how to compete with other competitors.


Tell me about the operation of the company?
It will assess the effectiveness of information services, also to know the functional operations to assess the present operations and evaluate the competitiveness of the operation. It would also help to describe the present and planned application characteristics, architecture, and capacity. It would determine the planning issues and determine the project scope to organize the project team and obtain management commitment. It also helps analyze IT trends to determine information needs. It defines the business in terms of what you do for your customer or your company.


What do we have to work with?
Examination of recent history and changing contexts both internal and external of the organization allows participants to assess current positions. Answering the question of what we have to work with involves consideration of strengths and weaknesses and determination of how to capitalize on strengths.


Where do we want to be?
This question involves all of those who are related in the achieving the vision. The vision is then translated into a mission statement it is like a broad, comprehensive statement of the purpose of the system.



Knowing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the company - Its like taking a wide look around at what’s going inside and outside the company and how it might effect the organization. Strategic planning must be aligning with the business plan. Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy, including its capital and people. Various business analysis techniques can be used in strategic planning, including SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) and PEST analysis (Political, Economic, Social, and Technological analysis) or STEER analysis involving Socio-cultural, Technological, Economic, Ecological, and Regulatory factors. According to other source, strategic plan is a document used by an organization to align its organization and budget structure with organizational priorities, missions, and objectives. It is also a process of comprehensive, integrative program planning that considers, at a minimum, the future of current decisions, overall policy, organizational development, and links to operational plans. And according to the project management club, strategic planning is a basic document for planning of different projects of the programmed and their sub-projects. A satisfactory strategic plan must be realistic and attainable so as to allow managers and entrepreneurs to think strategically and act operationally. In align with that, strategic plan must be reliable and suitable for the need of the company. Failure to secure top management commitment for carrying out the final plan frequently in almost all major projects, it may be on school or other situations like in business.