Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
terms of the balance sheet and income statement. To speak of IA services or IA
mechanisms at the governance level is inappropriate. Rather, speak in strategic
terms and financial terms, and how IA contributes, supports, enables, or furthers
stakeholder interests.
Management
establishes strategies that meet strategic objectives. These strate-
gies take form in strategic plans to implement strategies, tactical objectives (high
level), and tactical plans (high level). Management defines the first steps to
opera-
tionalize
a strategic idea.
Management regards IA services and IA mechanisms as strategic tools that
align with strategic plans in support of strategic objectives. For example, compli-
ance management addresses risks of legal action being taken against the organiza-
tion. Also, compliance management addresses litigation management to minimize
the effects of legal action against the organization. IA contribution to compliance
management directly relates to the fulfillment of a strategic objective of cost man-
agement, specifically cost avoidance through fines and court costs.
Builders
execute to the tactical objectives and tactical plans to meet those
objectives for the initial setup of operations. There is a significant difference
between builders and operations. Builders set up and hand off to ongoing opera-
tions. Both must work together to ensure smooth transition from setup activities
to ongoing activities.
Builders need to understand how IA will impact project budget and schedules,
and how to integrate IA into the project. Builders need to understand and resolve
trade-offs among cost, performance, risk, and schedule. The introduction of IA
may reduce risk, but increase cost, lengthen schedule, and reduce performance lev-
els. You need to help builders understand how and why, as well as the benefits of
risk reduction and if they are actually worth the trade-offs.
Operations
establishes tactical objectives (details) and tactical plans to meet
these objectives for ongoing operations. Operations includes activities that sup-
port end-user functions. Operations roles may include operations manager, system
administrator, engineer, etc. Operations support workflow for the fulfillment of a
business function.
Operations need to understand the effects of IA on operations personnel (train-
ing, task performance) and on the successful execution of business processes. Oper-
ations need to understand how IA affects performance levels of existing systems
and applications, format and structure of data and information, and IA's effects on
technical and physical infrastructure requirements.
Users
is a relative term referring to the consumers of a particular system, capa-
bility, product, or service. Users focus on the execution of tasks. Users want to
understand what they need to accomplish their tasks effectively. Users do not nec-
essarily look to be aware of or understand IA. They need a certain minimal level
of awareness to know what constitutes anomalous behavior or results, and how to
report the anomaly to operations via help desk or security operations center. For the
most part, users expect IA to be transparent.
