SURVEY SPOTLIGHT

 

In our last Survey Spotlight, we examined the responses we received to our 2010 Pulse Survey, "The Battle Between IT and Business: Does It Really Exist?" By far and by large, the respondents felt that they still struggled in closing the gap between the two.

 

In this issue, we took a deeper look and asked "Is there anything the business organization could do to help the IT organization better understand their needs?" This open-ended question garnered large range of comments, from animosity to a call for more communication, more BAs and involving IT earlier in the process.

 

The responses that were hostile towards the business included:

·         "The biz thinks they can do IT work and don't see or respect the years of experience IT has developed. They would never think we could do their job, but they believe they can do ours."

 

The responses that were hostile towards IT included:

·         "No, because IT doesn't listen."

·          "None until our IT is willing to listen."

 

Many responses called for more Business Analysts, including:

·         "No, the BAs constitute an effective bridge between the two. They both represent business needs and help to insulate the developers from interactions with the business that are too intense."

·         "ALWAYS have BAs meet with the stakeholders to understand all the business needs and concerns." 

·         "More Business Analysts."

·         "Adopt an IT platform that empowers BA's to do more than just requirement capturing."

 

Many also called for better communication, including:

·         "Listen, listen, listen."

·         "There has to be continuous information exchange between IT and business organization."

·         "Establish a common language and terms used."

 

The biggest batch of responses pointed to involving IT in the process earlier and more often, including: 

·         "The business can involve IT in more projects or make sure they are aware of developing projects that would involve IT at a later point."

·         "I think being more integrated in the business envisioning process would be helpful."

·         "Get them involved prior to making solution decisions."

·         "The business organization could actively request IT personnel to work alongside during strategy meetings, brainstorming session, and overall planning meetings."

·         "Yes, get IT involved early. Embrace requirements management."

 

These are just a few of the responses we received. Do you recognize some of your own sentiment toward IT-business alignment here? What is your company doing to bridge the gap between IT and the Business? Let us know by contacting STAR BASE at 513.245.0400.

 

Click here to download the full survey report.