Strategic Planning for Information Systems ^{3rd Ed.}

Strategic Planning for Information Systems (3rd Edition) explores the impact that Information Systems (IS) have on business performance and the contribution IS makes to the strategic development of organizations. It describes IS tools, techniques and management frameworks - all of which identify opportunities for strategic thinking, and shows how IS is an indispensable component in the implementation of a strategic plan.

Since the earlier edition of Strategic Planning for Information Systems, much has changed in the way business is organized. However, the essence of the book remains the same - it is a practical and comprehensive book written in a clear and straightforward way. This new edition focuses more on strategic management of IS than on the progress made in recent years in either technology or business processes. This 3rd edition is substantially updated and illustrated with new cases material and examples. Additional material will cover the role of ecommerce, knowledge management and benefits management systems. This book will also show why Information Systems and Information Technology investment works for some organizations and not for others.

1. The Evolving Role of Information Systems and Technology in Organizations: A Strategic Perspective
• Information Systems (IS) and Information Technology (IT)
• Early Views and Models of IS/IT in Organizations
• Early Views and Models: up to 1980
• The DP and MIS Eras: The Lessons Learned
• The Three-era Model
• The Strategic Information Systems Era
• Strategic Uses of IS/IT: classification, factors for success and management implications
• Success Factors in Strategic Information Systems
• The Management Implications
• What Is an IS/IT Strategy?
• The Context for IS/IT Strategy
• Toward a Fourth Era: An Organizational IS Capability
2. An Overview of Business Strategy Concepts and the IS/IT Strategy Implications
• The Evolving Nature of Strategy and Strategic Planning in Organizations
• The Strategic Framework
• Strategy Implementation
• Strategy Tools and Techniques
• A Resource-based View of Strategy
3. Developing an IS/IT Strategy: Establishing Effective Processes
• The Evolution of the IS/IT Strategy Process: from Technology Focus to Strategic Focus
• Approaches to IS/IT Strategy Development
• Problems and Barriers
• The Environment of the IS/IT Strategy
• The Challenges of Planning Strategically for IS/IT Today
• Establishing an IS/IT Strategy Process
• Purpose and Stimuli Driving IS/IT Strategy Development
• Scope, Objectives and Expectations
• An IS/IT Strategy Framework and Approach
• Deliverables from the IS/IT Strategy Process
4. IS/IT Strategic Analysis: Assessing and Understanding the Current Situation
• Business Re-engineering and IS Strategy
• Understanding the Current Situation
• Interpreting the Business Strategy
• Examining the Current IS/IT Environment
• Techniques for Interpretation and Analysis
• Information Requirements to Meet the Current Business Objectives: the Use of Critical Success Factors and Balanced Scorecards
• Business Process Analysis
• Organizational Modelling
• Evaluating the Gap between Current and Required IS/IT Environments
5. IS/IT Strategic Analysis: Determining the Future Potential
• Aligning the IS/IT Investment Strategy to the Business Value Chain Analysis
• The External Value Chain (Industry Value Chain or Value System)
• Information Systems and the Value Chain
• The Internal Value Chain
• Alternative Value 'Configuration' Models
• The Use of Value Chain Analysis
• 'Natural' and 'Contrived' Value Chains
• Business Re-engineering and the Value Chain
6. Determining the Business Information Systems Strategy
• Strategic Planning Techniques and Their Relationships
• Framework in which the Tools and Techniques Can Be Used Effectively
• Identifying How IS/IT Could Impact Strategy
• Establishing the Relative Priorities for IS/IT Investments
• Large Organizations, Multiple SBUs and their Consolidation
7. Managing the Applications Portfolio
• Conclusions from Various Matrices and Models
• Classifying the Applications in the Portfolio
• Generic Application Management Strategies
• Portfolio Management Principles Applied to the Application Portfolio
• Managing Application Portfolios in Multi-unit Organizations
8. Strategic Management of IS/IT: Organizing and Resourcing
• The Strategic Management Requirement
• Organizing Strategies for IS/IT Management
• Framework Guiding Action
• Provisioning of IS/IT Resources
• Who Should Manage IS/IT and Where Should It Report?
• Coordinating Mechanisms for the Strategic Management of IS/IT
• Managing the IS Function as a Bundle of Resources
• IS/IT Competency: The Criticality of the Human Resource
• Managing Relationships
• Bridging the Gap: Improving the Contribution of the IS Function
9. Managing Investments in Information Systems and Technology
• Introduction
• Investment and Priority-setting Policies
• Evaluating IS/IT Investments
• Setting Priorities for Applications
• Benefits Management
• The Benefits Management Process
• Assessing and Managing Investment Risks
10. Strategies for Information Management: Towards Knowledge Management
• Information as an Asset: The Senior Management Agenda
• An Information Culture
• Implementing Business-wide Information Management
• The Practice of Managing the Information Asset
• Activities of IAM
• Policies and Implementation Issues
• Managing Knowledge Resources
11. Managing the Supply of IT Services, Applications and Infrastructure
• Introduction
• IT Service Strategies
• Types of IS/IT Service
• Application Development and Provisioning Strategies
• Aligning the Development Approach to the Application Portfolio
• The Special Case of 'Enterprise Systems"
• Strategies for Managing the IT Infrastructure
• Linking the IT Infrastructure with the Business Strategy
• Justification of Infrastructure Investments
• Technology Strategies in a Multi-business Unit Organization
• Outsourcing Strategies
• Guidelines for outsourcing decisions
• Application Service Providers
12. Strategic Planning for Information Systems: Quo Vadis?
• Introduction
• A Brief Resume of Some Key Ideas
• IS Strategy Formulation and Planning in the 1990s
• Organization Development Competencies to Manage IS/IT Strategically
• A Business Change Perspective of IS/IT
• A Fourth Era: The IS Capability
• A Model Linking the IS Capability with IS Competencies and Resources

The keywords in this book is the merger between IS/IT, Strategy and management. It nearly disregards the technical aspects of it all, and concentrates on how IS/IT should interact with and support the business strategy.

And they do a very good job. Unfortunately, it is not a very easy read, as it is extremely dry and assumes a knowledge of IS/IT beforehand. This may in fact, be called the advanced course, compared to many other books on the subject I have read.