From PRINCE2.COM – here is their list of the Top 15 iPhone applications for Project Managers:
http://blog.prince2.com/2010/07/top-15-iphone-apps-for-project-managers/
Archive for Popular
We are delighted with the uptake of ILX elearning training courses in the last month. Several new Government Agencies are now on board and training staff this way. As well as the learning benefits of elearning for the staff member, elearning generally works out cheaper for the organisation.
The following article from e.learning age by Eddie Kilkelly of ILX Group may give you some insight as to why more and more are choosing elearning over face to face courses.
http://www.ilxgroup.com/docs/press/elearningage-june2010.pdf
Give Murray Wills a call on (04) 931 9325 if you would like know more about ILX training.
The following article indicates just how out of touch some boards and CEOs are.
It would be very interesting in those companies where CIOs are no longer reporting to the CEO if IDC were to research the IT competency of the CEO and Board. I would also be asking them what they consider to be the role of the CIO. I suspect that these organisations are “organisations of the past” rather than “organisations of the future”!
Of course one possibility is that the incumbent CIO was not acting as a “Chief Information Officer”, possessing a senior information technology and management background and experience (including strategic planning and risk management in an IT context), business background and experience, but as an IT Operations Manager. If this is the case then an additional role of CIO reporting to the CEO should be put in place.
The trend of CIOs not reporting to the CEO flies in the face of a strategic, IT enabled and future focused organisation, be it a company or government agency, and I would welcome the opportunity to discuss the reasons why with any CEO, CIO, or board.
Here is an interesting article from Chris Curran in CIO online:
http://www.cio.com/article/504149/CIO_Background_Check_IT_Experience_Mandatory_
This is the subject of some research that I am currently undertaking also for an up coming article.
Chris asked questions of the online community and his article is based on the responses to these questions. It is timely that Chris has raised this issue at this time, particularly in a recession, when it is so important to have highly functioning organisations.
Actually, this question has been asked many times before, over many years, and the answer keeps coming back that “Yes, they need both a business and IT background to succeed”. Just as a CFO needs a financial and business background.
My comment on his article on the CIO site was:
Yes, absolutely CIOs need both IT and business backgrounds. From an educational background also a Masters in information systems or a combination of business and information technology study at a post graduate level does not go a miss either.
Boards and CEO’s need education in order for them to spot a CIO when they see them. So many organisations are being poorly served by people in CIO roles who may be good technical managers but don’t understand or relate to the business.
One of the things that I am particularly interested in is why we keep having to ask this question.
I suspect one reason may be that CEO’s, 2nd tier managers and even Boards of Directors do not understand what a Chief Information Officer is and what they do (ie how the function should enable the business). As far as they are concerned they are “IT” – what ever that means. Maybe they also hope the answer will change so they can justify their own organisational structure or poor choice of person in the position!
This then shows a fundamental lack of management understanding and education. It maybe also point to a lack of clearly being able to define the role by some IT staff also. This lack of knowledge unfortunately doesn’t help the cause.
Look soon for my article on – what is a true CIO, what background and qualifications do they need, and who they should report to (and no that is not the CFO). I’ll also explain how in my opinion the CIO is different from a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) or IT Manager.
Take the hassle out of your training programme with ILX Group’s e-learning.
ILX have launched a NZ order page for PRINCE2, ITIL, MSP, and Introduction to Project Management courses.
e-Learning is the first choice for training for ILX Group clients in Oceania as it can be deployed internationally, across multiple sites.
Check out the following link to see what is on offer: http://www.ilxgroup.com/global-newzealand.asp
Maxsys facilitates exams in NZ, along with another ILX partner in Auckland. We see this training as an essential element in upskilling New Zealanders in project management methodology. Prince2 and ITIL are widely used in Government and non Government organisations worldwide, with more and more implementing the methodologies all of the time.
Contact us if you wish to know more, or you would like to know about intranet or corporate discounts.
With IT playing an increasing role in the success of an organisation has the time come to review your board of directors to see who has IT governance expertise?
This is particularly important in times of recession, as companies and government agencies will start to rely more heavily on efficiencies that can be made through effective use of IT systems and processes, or the introduction of new IT based services.
Attached is an article which I authored which has just been published in the Institute of Directors Journal Boardroom this month.
Click Here to read the full article.
Due to popular demand a PRINCE2 User Group has been set up in Wellington.
PRINCE2 stands for PRojects IN Controlled Environments and we see it starting to become widely used as a project management methodology in some Government agencies in New Zealand.
“PRINCE2 is a de facto standard used extensively by the UK Government and is widely recognised and used in the private sector, both in the UK and internationally.”
“The method PRINCE2 is in the public domain, offering non-proprietorial best practice guidance on project management. PRINCE2 is a registered trademark of OGC (the Office of Government Commerce -UK).” see http://www.prince2.com/what-is-prince2.asp
The user group meets monthly and caters for people using PRINCE2, thinking of using PRINCE2 or just with a general interest in the topic.
To find out more go to http://www.prince2.org.nz.
How should government spend on ICT?
I’ve been following the work that has been going on in Australia on ICT in government for a few months now.
The Australian Government asked Sir Peter Gershon, UK Treasury’s former Chief Executive to conduct an independent review of the Australian Government’s management of information and communication technology (ICT). They have decided now to implement the recommendations in full.
It is amazing that the review has been so comprehensive and been delivered in such a tight timeframe.
You can read more by clicking on the following link http://www.futuregov.net/articles/2009/jan/21/gershon-reports/
You can read the full report and terms of reference at the following site http://www.finance.gov.au/e-government/strategy-and-governance/ict-review.html
There were several key findings of the review and all are of interest to me, particularly the Governance area:
KEY FINDINGS
After detailed analysis of the evidence, the review identified the following key findings.
- There is weak governance of pan-government issues related to ICT.
- Agency governance mechanisms are weak in respect of their focus on ICT efficiency and an understanding of organisational capability to commission, manage and realise benefits from ICT-enabled projects.
- The business as usual (BAU) ICT funding in agencies is not subject to sufficient challenge and scrutiny.
- There is a disconnect between the stated importance of ICT and actions in relation to ICT skills.
- There is no whole-of-government strategic plan for data centres. In the absence of such a plan, the Government will be forced into a series of ad hoc investments which will, in total, cost in the order of $1 billion more than a coordinated approach over a 15-year period.
- The government ICT marketplace is neither efficient nor effective.
- There is a significant disconnect between the Government’s overall sustainability agenda and its ability to understand and manage energy costs and the carbon footprint of its ICT estate.
From: Sir Peter Gershon CBE FREng. (2008, August) Review of the australian government’s use of information and communication technology. Commonwealth of Australia 2008: http://www.finance.gov.au/e-government/strategy-and-governance/ict-review.html
The interesting thing would be how many of these apply to other countries? Findings 1, 2 and 4 are potentially universal.
It is time that we paid more attention to findings 2 and 4 not just in government but in the non government sector as well.
In times of global recession it is those organisations who have good governance practices in place (IT being a major enabler and expense item in most organisations), and good HR practices in terms of recruiting, developing and retaining IT skills will have major advantages over those who don’t.
And yes – this does include Government Agencies.
Jeff Vance from CIO Update makes his predictions for 2009, and reviews how he did in 2008.
http://www.cioupdate.com/trends/article.php/3795736/5-Hot-Trends-for-2009.htm
I am already seeing substantial hightened interest in Virtualisation, and it’s only January! Virtualisation offers some substantial benefits operationally, cost wise and disaster recovery wise, and a number of vendors now have “rungs on the board”. If you have a need to replace servers, provision new services, or re-architect backup etc, virtualisation really needs to be included in your list of options.
Social networking slows down the enterprise – I have to agree with him here, with the exception of sites like LinkedIn, a professional networking site that I use all the time. FaceBook, etc – I’m not sure of the “business case” for this in a work environment, but maybe you can convince me?
CIO Update Staff also give their predictions for Hot IT Management Trends for 2009.
As IT Governance is one of my particular interests I can’t help agree with this one. See a previous article by me called IT Governance 101 also. Portfolio and project management, prioritisation, strategic alignment assessment, efficient processes, resource management, and financial controls are just some of the things that come under this heading. The economic crisis making them all the more important.
What do you think?
I have opened this one up so that you can comment on it below.
Murray
Came across this in my web travels today. It is actually quite good. Who said computing can’t be a happening thing!
Murray