Quality Matters
On May 22, 2024, the traditional 12th annual informal meeting of CIOs and IT managers took place with the aim of sharing experiences and inspiration for modern IT management.
The next edition of Meetup CIO 25 will take place again in Brno on May 21, 2025, to which we invite participants interested in trends in IT management and IT governance in general.
Data analytics is usually a well-established area in many organizations. On the other hand, people analytics is a new and emerging field, as many organizations are just now recognizing that people, their skills, and capabilities are their greatest assets.
In IT, people analytics can be practically implemented through these steps:
– Individual skills assessment
– Total skills composition of the entire IT department including trend analysis and relative comparison
– Analysis of collaboration experiences and quality
– Trend analysis and benchmarking to understand relative levels
– Setting target levels and goals
Various methods are available, such as SFIA or the IT Quality Index method for multidimensional assessment.
The traditional focus on reactive processes is insufficient for modern IT governance. Therefore, people analytics represents the next evolutionary step.
Example below shows proportions between FTE allocation into specific types of activities. This type of analysis enables observation of changes over time, but also relative comparison between different IT depts.
A number of CIOs and IT managers actively educate themselves and devote themselves to new areas that will allow them to change the view of IT from a reactive department to a strategic capability of their organizations and a full-fledged part of the company that can contribute to the successful development of the entire company. IT is therefore changing from a service organization to a strategic asset with the ability to innovate the functioning of the entire company-
To transform IT into this strategic role, it is advisable to think about the key questions:
All these questions inspire a strategic assessment of what the future role of IT in the company should be in the context of the new reality and the departure from industrial management methodologies. To answer these questions, a cycle of 8 courses lasting 10 days is now available, equipping graduates with the knowledge and ability to answer these fundamental questions of IT management.
The cycle of courses can be completed in any order, the concluding Strategic CIO certification is free of charge, it confirms the successful completion of the entire cycle of courses.
More info is here:
In 1985, Michael Porter introduced the concept of the value chain, which later became a widely used model for various value-based concepts. However, in that era, the IT landscape was vastly different from what it is today. Concepts like value from service delivery and consumption have now become the de-facto default models for value creation.
Fast forward almost 40 years, and we find ourselves in a developmental stage that demands a critical re-evaluation of the Porter value chain, especially in terms of defining the internal IT role. Back in the 1980s, the role of IT was marginal and not well-established. IT was considered a support function, a rational categorization when it started supporting existing business processes. However, in the 2020s, this perspective is outdated, especially in organizations where IT is a crucial enabler or even a critical component for the business.
Take, for instance, insurance companies that operate primarily through IT-enabled new business models, such as online insurance without any personal contact. Depicting IT as merely a support function oversimplifies its significance in the modern organizational landscape.
It’s time to unlearn thinking about IT as a support function and embrace more relevant models. Today’s organizations can be described as complex collaboration networks without strictly defined borders between departments. Adopting collaboration and collective responsibilities better reflects the realities of today’s world.
Collaboration networks thrive on active-active relationships, where organizational digital capabilities result from combined efforts of many individuals sharing resources (time, mental effort), knowledge, and aiming to achieve shared organizational goals. Transactional overhead can be minimized by eliminating the idea of internal customers, internal services, and internal Service Level Agreements (SLAs), which may be obsolete for collaboration within an organization.
Here are some practical steps for this paradigm shift:
For example, the Digital Capabilities Management Model (DCMM) can serve as a modernization alternative for how internal IT is managed, introducing new management patterns.
In conclusion, long-held beliefs should be regularly examined for their relevance. At a certain point, a paradigm shift becomes inevitable as progress and new realms transform the way things work, including IT management.
The concept of continual improvement, influenced significantly by visionaries such as Sir Edward Deming in the 1950s, laid the groundwork for a structured approach to quality management, exemplified by the continual improvement (PDCA) cycle. Originally rooted in the context of factory-type work, where manual labor synchronized with machines, the focus was on optimizing workflows, eliminating waste, and ensuring consistency in outputs—a paradigm where metrics were easily collectible and amenable to statistical analysis. Over time, continual improvement practices transcended industrial boundaries, extending into the service industry and general management. Even ISO norms advocate for continual improvement, urging practitioners to continuously refine practices outlined in a specific ISO norm.
Despite the shift from an industrial era to a knowledge-based economy, with a predominant workforce engaged in intellectual pursuits, continual improvement remains a revered best practice. However, the question arises: is the application of continual improvement universally suitable? Should we persistently enhance activities that may have become obsolete or less significant? Is it plausible to continually refine one-time decisions or activities influenced by externalities and unknown variables? The answer, unequivocally, is no. Continual improvement proves to be domain-dependent, finding its forte in highly regular and consistent activities.
For a majority of work activities, alternative approaches may yield superior results, such as continual learning and adaptation or quality management in its broader meaning. Here are key considerations:
The evolution toward knowledge work necessitates a critical reevaluation of where and why continual improvement practices should be applied. Adapting to the intricacies of contemporary work environments may entail embracing approaches like continual learning and adaptation, recognizing that not all activities warrant the relentless pursuit of improvement.
