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Successful CIO's are leading with best practice in program and benefits management

• New survey demonstrates that chief information officers (CIO's) need to exploit the latest practice in program and benefits management to keep IT at the forefront of the business and the business at the forefront of IT.

28 June 2004 - According to the annual CIO / IT Director Market Survey from recruitment consultant Harvey Nash, and published in Computing, business alignment is a key concern for 41 per cent of CIO's. Whilst 83 per cent say they are better aligned than in the past, a massive 56 per cent say there is room for improvement.

Peter Bondar, CEO at Progam Management Group plc (PMG), said: "In complex business environments made up of major projects, it is important that IT is closely aligned with the business to respond to the increasing need for change. This means having main board representation so that they can directly influence the tight control over costs, evaluate risks in a systematic way at both strategic and project levels, and plan, re-plan and communicate effectively."

However, according to the survey, IT is still struggling to gain proper representation in the boardroom. Only 15 per cent of CIO's sit on company boards - that’s level with last year, but down 5% on 2001. Most IT Directors believe they should be reporting to the chief executive, and only one percent think they should report to the finance director, whereas 30 per cent actually do.

"IT projects that fail to deliver value are seen as a drain on resources, and a source of friction between IT departments and the business. CIO's who are proactive in shutting down problem projects and maximising the resources of the business can play a major role at board level by demonstrating the ROI of decisions. That is why many successful CIO's are turning to the latest program management technologies to increase their visibility of projects and ability to meet business needs," added Bondar.

"By exploiting best practice in program management they can manage the complex interdependencies between benefits, programs, projects and resources. In other words, identify the contribution each project makes to corporate objectives, which projects should be sacrificed or reduced in priority and see the effect of cancelling or delaying projects. They can also model how much capacity is committed across the enterprise and the impact new initiatives and contender programs will have on business operations. With these capabilities, it is no wonder why they are vital board members".