Copyright © 2004 Sherif Kamel Establishing a Career in the MIS/IT/IS Job Market Sherif Kamel The...

Copyright © 2004 Sherif Kamel

Establishing a Career in the MIS/IT/IS Job Market

Sherif Kamel

The American University in Cairo


Outline

Business of consulting What makes a successful IT consultant? The consulting process IT consulting framework IT enterprise model Waves of innovations The chief information officer Information leadership Conclusion


The business of consulting

“The opposite of the word professional is not unprofessional but rather technician”.

David Maister


What makes a successful IT consultant?

Create a vision Ensure customer satisfaction Create an information added-

value Build a successful team Think globally Appreciate cultural diversity Develop and empower people

with information

Forecast and anticipate Achieve a competitive

advantage Manage change Share leadership Overcome technological

barriers Demonstrate personal

capacities Encourage constructive

challenges


Success factors in the IT field

Career advancement 87% Enjoyment of work 85% Support from management 67% Vacation and time off 56% Packages and privileges 39%

Survey of over 10000 employees in IT Fortune 500 companies


The consulting process

1. Understand the current status

2. Define the desired state

3. Analyze the gap between these states

4. Recommend an action plan to move from the current state to the desired state

5. Partner with the client to implement the action plan

* Certain restrictions and deterrents might apply because of internal and/or external factors


Consulting in IT

The are 5 basic concepts that can serve as a foundation for the IT advisory process:

1. Focus on the relationship

2. Clearly define your role

3. Visualize success

4. You advise, propose, they decide

5. Be oriented towards results


The IT consulting framework


The discovery process

In understanding the processes within an organization there are a number of factors that should be clearly understood…

1. How to gain a better understanding of the client’s culture and norms of behavior so that the analysis is based on valid information.

2. How to develop a holistic view of the as-is state so that the recommendations proposed support both organizational and business contexts.

3. How to address the data collection and the information dissemination processes to optimize the knowledge within the organization and from the marketplace.


The enterprise IT model Business

o Strategic goals, competitive issues, regulatory issues, industry issues

Processo Workflow, data analysis, departmental interaction, policies and

procedures Application

o Accounting, word processing, database, computer-based training Data

o Text, numbers, voice, video, scanned images, graphics Infrastructure

o Mainframes, minicomputers, servers, routers, cabling


Data collection methods

Review of existing documentation Observation Surveys Facilitated work sessions Interviews


Critical success factors

Collaboration Communication Culture


Cornerstones for successful consulting

ConsultantSatisfaction

FunctionalAchievement

ClientSatisfaction


Waves of innovation

There are 5 waves of innovation:o Reducing costo Leveraging investmentso Enhancing products and serviceso Enhancing executive decision makingo Reaching the consumer

You need to be looking, as a consultant, at the realization to as many of these objectives


Traditional functions are fading away

The traditional set of responsibilities for IS has included:– Managing operations of data centers, remote systems, and networks– Managing corporate data– Performing systems analysis and design, and constructing new

systems– Systems planning

The following trends are moving their performance out of the IS department:

– Distributed systems– Ever more knowledgeable users– Better application packages– Outsourcing


New roles are emerging

1. IS not a single monolithic organization, but rather a cluster of 4 functions:

– Run operations– Develop systems– Develop architecture – Identify business requirements

2. The focus of the IS department is on:– Computer and network operations– System development and maintenance– Systems and information architecture– Business requirements identification


Changing Roles

Companies are shifting attention from roles to processes. The IS department can be viewed as managing 3 overall

processes:o Driving innovation o Managing changeo Supporting infrastructure


Chief Information Officer

CIOs has the responsibility for making sure that IS plan supports the firm’s business plan and provides long-term direction for the firm’s system related firms

CIOs should have a mix of business and technological knowledge

CIOs represent the strategic nature of IS leadership


CIO’s Responsibilities In order to take a leadership role in reshaping the way the

enterprise works and competes, IS executives have the following responsibilities:1. Understand the business2. Establish credibility of the IS department3. Increase the technological maturity of the firm

Develop a competent IS staff and IT-savvy users Encourage championing of IT projects


CIO’s Responsibilities

4. Create a vision of the future and sell it Develop a vision Exploring the present Project the future Selling the vision

5. Implement an information system architecture

6. Foster relationships

7. Operates within a networked paradigm – integrating technical and human issues

8. Appreciates importance of knowledge management


IT priorities for CIOs


Information Literacy

++Information Policy

==

KKnowledge nowledge MManagementanagement

Information Leadership

Information integration


Types of information

Volume of information

Meaning of information

Syntactic Semantic

More important to knowledge creation


Information literacy for leadership buildup Accesses information efficiently and effectively Evaluates information critically and competently Uses information accurately and creatively Strives for excellence in information seeking and knowledge

generation Participates effectively in groups to pursue and generate information


Information policy Ability to identify information and information access and information

policies Policy captures an organization's ‘thinking’ about an issue Provides guidance and strives for a consistent approach Information acquisition and dissemination is vital ICT has enabled the need for information policy process

formulation


Epistemology and ontology

Epistemology is the Theory of knowledge Ontology is the Knowledge creating entities

o Individualso Groupso Organizationso Inter-organizations


Knowledge and information

Knowledge Level

Individual

Ontological Dimension Group Organization Inter-Organization

Epistemological Dimension

TacitKnowledge

ExplicitKnowledge


Who is an information leader? Has an information philosophy Understands core issues of learning and professional development Understanding of technology, not technical, rather technological

vision Interprets educational and administration needs into technological

solutions Manages ICT from a socioeconomic and business development

perspective


Conclusion

CIOs must play a leadership role in the enterprise and develop partnerships with…

o Senior managemento Internal and external customerso Suppliers


Rules of life – the infoware Infoware 1 – Life is not fair - get used to it! Infoware 2 – The world will not care about your self-

esteem. The world will expect you to add value before you feel good about yourself

Infoware 3 – If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss

Infoware 4 - Life is not divided into semesters. You do not get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time, if you find any

Infoware 5 – Never stop learning, that is your only way to success and promotion and knowledge acquisition

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