Management Information Systems

Alignment of information systems with strategic initiatives is essential to maximizing benefits gained from development efforts. Planning information systems often begins with examining strategic initiatives and key performance indicators to determine the role and capacity in which existing or new systems are achieving objectives (Laudon & Laudon, 2020, pp. 534–537). When areas of improvement are identified, a comprehensive plan is created to justify necessary changes. The proposed change is described, followed by a detailed analysis of the current organizational environment. Future organizational issues relate to the direction of the organization and business process, in addition to their respective information system drivers, as seen in Figure 2. This portion of the plan expresses the importance of information systems to accomplish organizational success and growth. Other aspects of the plan address information technology, management, and system recommendations.

Figure 2

Information Systems Plan Organizational Issues

Information systems management plans should include information about key milestones and schedule. Milestone information provides key stakeholders with prioritized benchmarks in which to determine plan progress. Milestones do not necessarily line up with project phases. Instead, they characterize fulfillment of a number of related tasks on a significant project element. Leaders decompose milestones into smaller parts using a variety of tools and techniques. At the plan proposal stage, milestones should be fully articulated, but not necessarily broken down into constituent components. SMART goal development helps leaders identify and communicate specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound objectives. Figure 4 explains the SMART goals framework.

Figure 4

SMART Goals

In most organizations, the chief information officer (CIO) typically manages information systems and related assets. Similarly, the chief security officer (CSO) is tasked with enforcing information system security. Some organizations may have a dedicated information systems department as part of a larger IT governance strategy. IT governance strategies can be broadly defined as the development of roles responsible for making technology decisions and ensuring all technologies align with organizational strategy (ISACA, 2019). Management of information systems is traditionally viewed as a function performed by IT departments, but as information systems are now central to many business functions, organizations have shifted focus to strategic IT governance programs. Firms with formal IT governance consistently outperform competitors by improving IT performance (Joshi et al., 2022). As industry s adopts a more holistic approach to management of their information systems, barriers faced by traditional IT are reduced.

Management of systems projects in environments with well-developed IT governance reduces overall risk for project failure. The Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies (COBIT) framework helps leadership clarify their present and future information system environments. As seen in Figure 5, strategic goals are driven by stakeholder needs, which cascade into enterprise goals, alignment goals, and management objectives (Edmead, 2020).

Figure 5

COBIT 2019 Goals Cascade

The COBIT framework describes two levels of involvement for managing stakeholders. Responsible roles drive task completion, where accountable roles determine degree of success in which tasks achieve goals (ISACA, 2019, pp. 21–22). Efficient IS management involves ensuring important tasks are assigned both levels of involvement. COBIT assesses level management of information systems strategies using a six-step process. The first step involves understanding the enterprise context in which the system is or will operate. Step two involves evaluating performance of current services to develop an understanding of existing capabilities of information systems in the organization. The third step uses business context to define the target information systems and any necessary resources for implementation. Next, gaps between the current and target environment are identified, along with high-level changes target systems may make to the enterprise architecture. Step five involves developing a holistic digital strategy for information systems. Finally, the organization generates awareness of business IS objectives and their role in achieving organizational strategy (Edmead, 2020).

Figure 6

COBIT Enterprise IS Strategy Steps