|
This month, we are firegazing with…
Alan Hesketh, General Manager - Information Technology at Progressive Enterprises Limited
In just 18 months Progressive Enterprises Limited (PEL) – owners of the Foodtown, Woolworths and Countdown supermarket groups - embedded a robust IT governance model, successfully aligning IT with the business.
PEL’s General Manager of Information Technology Alan Hesketh says linking the IT governance structure to your business’s key drivers is critical.
“IT needs to be thinking about the customer experience. If IT doesn’t contribute to the customer experience, you’re not delivering growth,” says Hesketh.
Hesketh gives his top tips on how to get control and visibility over your business.
Align IT with the business.
Over the last two years, Hesketh has put a workable IT governance structure in place with an IT Steering Committee led by the CEO and five IT working groups underneath it – all involving managers across the business, and linking IT in with key parts of the business.
Get visibility.
In 2003, PEL had no view across the IT projects. Reporting was difficult with different projects managers using different tools and approaches.
Hesketh centralised all IT projects into a Projects Office, creating the position of IT Projects Manager. The office developed a consistent project process.
PEL adopted the web-based application iTools Control to get a helicopter view very fast across the IT projects. iTools Control gave PEL a consistent platform for project managers to work off, where they share data and tasks in real time and online.
Know your risk.
PEL have achieved a transparent view across IT projects, paving the way for better risk management. Project managers can escalate risks and issues easily to senior managers for their attention and action. “Project issues still occur,” says Hesketh, “but what we do is detect them very early on. We know if something is going wrong and are able to do something about it.”
Report in real time.
In the past, reporting was cumbersome, difficult and time consuming with project managers using different tools. The ability to report quickly and in real time has been a big enabler. “I can report on what is happening across the programme in real time,” says Hesketh. “iTools’ executive dashboard gives me a snapshot status of the projects on the go, and if there are issues.”
No surprises.
Good IT governance is all about transparency. “Today, I rarely go into senior management meetings not knowing what is going on, or being in the dark about a silent “killer” issue. I hate surprises. One surprise can destroy my credibility, and IT has to have high credibility to be accepted by the business.”
Measure performance.
Demonstrating return on IT initiatives is imperative to proving IT’s credibility. It is about being equipped with real time information on projects’ performance. “We use iTools to demonstrate what project managers have achieved – it keeps them focused on the original business case, and what they need to deliver.”
If you want to find out more about IT Governance and how Progressive Enterprises went about putting in a robust IT governance process, download the white paper ‘The CIO’s problem with IT Governance’ at www.itoolscontrol.com
|
