So, What Comes After Level 3 Business-IT Maturity?

I had a question from a colleague recently that I’d like to address in this post.  She asked, “I’m going to ask a possibly ‘dumb’ question, but since I believe that there are no dumb questions I’m asking it anyway…  Since level 3 is constantly evolving i.e., today’s Level 3 will be tomorrow’s Level 2 [...]

Reaching Level 3: The Mindset Factor

I’ve posted before on the role of ambition as a key factor in driving business-IT maturity.  I want to move beyond that and pick up the theme of mindset.  This is a topic I covered in today’s teleconference as part of our multi-client research project into business-IT maturity.
According to Wikipedia, Mindset refers to the set [...]

Podcast on Business-IT Maturity Model

 
I’m very proud that Tom Parish, host and audio producer for the excellent Enterprise Leadership web site, invited me to deliver a podcast on the Business-IT Maturity model.  Just click on the blue link above my photo, or right-click to download the mp3 file.
It was a great deal of fun to do - Tom asked [...]

The “Unwritten Rules” of Business-IT Maturity - Part 2

Today I will expand upon the introduction in my last post to the topic of ‘unwritten rules’ as they pertain to Business-IT Maturity. 

First a reminder - the Business-IT Maturity model I’ve discussed from various angles since starting this blog last October addresses ‘two sides of the coin’, those being Business Demand maturity(the business appetite for IT [...]

Elevating Business Demand Maturity - Victim or Leader?

 
I’ve touched on this theme in several posts, but I feel it’s time to call it out: don’t be a victim - be a leader!  I’m moved to get back into this because I continue to hear IT professionals bemoan the fact that “Our business partners just don’t want to use IT to innovate - [...]

Business-IT Maturity and Change in Organizational Mission

As I’ve been researching human and organizational development for BSG Concours’s Reaching Level 3 multi-client research, I was reminded of the role of organizational “mission” as frequently expressed through some form of mission statement.   I’ve done a lot of work over the years (both research and consulting) on IT organizational change and transformation, much of [...]

Business-IT Maturity and Human Development Archetypes

 
My post yesterday suggested that human development might be a useful metaphor for Business-IT Maturity.  In particular, we might imagine the parallels between physical, cognitive, social and economic development.  We might apply these developmental dimensions to both business maturity with information technology, and to the maturity of the IT organization.  This gives us both the [...]

Human Development as a Metaphor for Business-IT Maturity

As part of the “Reaching Level 3″ Business-IT maturity research project I’m currently involved in, I’ve been thinking about human metaphors to see if these add any insight or richness that help us better understand how IT organizations (and the businesses they support) mature, how to assess maturity, and how to safely accelerate the maturation process.
Humans [...]

You Know You’ve Reached Level 3 When…

Less than 60% of IT spend is to “keep the lights on and the trains running.”
You have a real “partnership” with your business partners - they seek your advice frequently; you can “push back” on dumb or ideas for IT that will probably yield low value; they are open to your ideas, no matter how [...]

You Know You’re Stuck at Level 2 When…

Between 60% and 70% of IT spend is to “keep the lights on and the trains running.” (If it’s >70%, you know your in Level 1!)
Your business partners treat you as “order takers” - bringing you somewhat fleshed out needs that they want you to act upon.
You’ve implemented Portfolio Management disciplines, but only for project [...]