The Axioms of IT

 

• We are a service department.  We live and die by how other departments view us (perception) and the value we bring them.  Act accordingly.

 

• We are liaisons that facilitate collaboration.  We introduce concepts such as Business Process Automation and other technology concepts by facilitating project needs with the users.   We are the Business Process champions for the company.  We must take extra time to explain to business units the benefit they derive from BP efforts. 

 

• It is important to realize that a user can not write a good specification or design a good solution without our help.  It is also important that we don’t tell them that but rather just work with them.

 

• Projects are never “waiting on someone else”.  We are responsible for moving projects forward and delivering them on time.

 

• What are we good at? [Good to Great]  In addition to processes and whole solutions, our specialty should be integration and execution.  We need to become very proficient at what most internal information technology staffs struggle with, having superior plans and executing them flawlessly.

 

• Always know why you are working on a project and how it fits into the long term vision of the department and the company.  If you don’t know this, stop working and seek out the answers.  Understanding purpose allows us to make better decisions.  All projects should result in an ROI for the company.  Good projects save the company money, great project generate revenue.  The rest is busywork.

 

• In IT, we never create, nor destroy data.  Data is owned by the business units and users, never by IT. 

 

• Never give an answer of “see X” or “talk to person Y”.  If you can not personally help the user/person yourself, facilitate a hand-off.

 

• Manageability, reliability and scalability hold more value than cutting edge technology or extra performance.

 

• Never create, nor protect a SPF (Single Point of Failure).  These must be sought out and eliminated whenever possible.

 

• Systems are meant to drive behavior, not dictate process.  Establish a process that best gets the job done.  Then modify or change the systems to support the desired process.  If there is no way for the system to support the desired process, start looking for a new system.

 

• Constant Fire-fighting is the sign of a poorly operating department.  If we plan and execute well, the need to spend time troubleshooting the daily fires decreases.  An inability to decrease the quantity of these fires cripples the effectiveness of the department and the value it provides.

 

• Reports are meant to reflect data.  Never modify a system or data to make a report come out the way you (or a business owner) desires.  Instead modify the report (or change the process) to facilitate the results.

 

• Write tasks down.  There are too many little things to remember and follow up on.  If you have a photographic memory, your talent is wasted in IT.

 

• The Production Environment is sacred.  It can never be compromised.

 

• Test plans need to verify the desired results in a staging environment before production and then test the results again after rollout.  Then, follow up with final UAT.

 

• And above all, bring people Solutions not Problems!