IT Governance and Audit

Stop Waiting for Life to Happen | Peter Sage | TED Talks

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 15:32:00 -0600

Jack Welche's Career Pitfalls

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 19:55:00 -0500

1) Misfiring on performance or values - Overcommitting and under-delivering

2) Resistance to change - Failing to embrace new ideas

3) Being a Problem Identifier vs a Problem Solver

4) Winning over your boss but not your business peer group

5) Always worrying about your next career move versus focusing on the present

6) Running for office - it’s totally transparent to everyone but you!

7) Self-importance - exhibiting a humorless, rigid attitude

8) Lacking the courage and conviction to push back on the system

9) Forgetting to develop your own succession plan for when you get promoted

10) Complacency - you’ve stopped growing.

Keys to Strategic Success

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 08:21:00 -0500

Strategic model to set direction

Limit on diversity and complexity level of strategy to stay focused

Assessment of competitive advantages

Drive to development of new ideas and innovative designs

The plan for implementation of innovation

You Think More Than You Think

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 08:34:00 -0500

Broad Options Thinking
Contrary Thinking
Critical Indicators Thinking
Fact-based Thinking
Group Synergy Thinking
Innovative Thinking
Insightful Thinking
Overview Thinking
Single Subject Thinking
Strategic or Tactical thinking

Leading Innovation

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Sun, 19 Apr 2015 12:59:00 -0500

Lead from within, not from without assigning tasks
Provide vision, not detailed plan
Change processes standards, and opposing views rather than seeking comfort in the familiar.
Take interests in details to motivate rather than to prescribe
Promote equality among team members regardless of their expertise
Continually ask for advice, insights, and opinions.
Assemble groups of diverse independent thinkers, not teams of risk-avoiding managers.

How to Implement Creative Collaboration within Teams

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 14:31:00 -0500

1. Set possible but hard goals that require innovation.

2. Select diverse but relevant individuals who can collectively turn the goal into a successful implementation.

3. Detail a vision of turning the hard goal into reality.

4. Determine the current state to gauge the gap with what you want to achieve. See what works really well now and what can be improved.

5. From gap analysis, detail what is missing and what do you need to do, and where you need innovative ideas that are missing now.

Machiavelli speaks to leaders today

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 08:34:00 -0500

A leader is justified when preventing chaos or disorder.
If you cause slight injury, you will suffer consequences, if you praise then you will neutralize
In a new responsibility, get the hard decisions implemented first, then support and facilitate gradually over time.
Luck plays the biggest role and fortune favors the bold.
Never compromise with or submit to unethical acts.
Remember that no policy is without risk. Thus, all policies carry risks.
The leader’s main job is to protect turf from other leaders.

How great leaders inspire action

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 22:21:00 -0500

Process Improvement Plans

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 09:40:00 -0500

PDCA

Plan
Do
Check
Act

Kaizen

Preparation
Pre-Kaizen
Kaizen Event
Post Kaizen

Sort
Set in Order
Shine
Standardize
Sustain

DMAIC

Define
Measure
Analyze
Improve
Control

Process Improvement Activities

Initial Planning
Detailed Planning
Baseline
Initial Design
Detailed Design
Validation
Implementation
Close

Questions for Mentoring Auditors

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Tue, 24 Mar 2015 21:14:00 -0500

1. What are you short-term and longer-term objectives?

2. What is stopping you from achieving them now?

3. What information and help from others do you need?

4. Have you written down any plans?

5. Did you talk about what you want with significant others?

6. What will you do once you achieve your goals?

7. Is this what you really want for you or to satisfy others?

Useful Leadership Skills for Governance and Compliance Functions

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 16:39:00 -0500

Clever (intelligent)
Conceptually skilled
Creative
Diplomatic and tactful
Fluent in speaking
Knowledgeable about group task
Organised (administrative ability)
Persuasive
Socially skilled

Leadership Traits for Governance and Compliance Functions

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 16:37:00 -0500

Adaptable to situations
Alert to social environment
Ambitious and achievement orientated
Assertive
Cooperative
Decisive
Dependable
Dominant (desire to influence others)
Energetic (high activity level)
Persistent
Self-confident
Tolerant of stress
Willing to assume responsibility

For Strategic Planning, Value Management can

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Wed, 24 Jul 2013 16:21:00 -0500

Test and validate planning assumptions
Identify and confirm stakeholder values
Create a shared vision or agreed direction
Develop alignment to corporate directions
Establish Master Planning principles and objectives, and
Define key challenges and strategies

Preserving Process Value by

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Wed, 24 Jul 2013 16:20:00 -0500

Eliminating or reducing deviations in performance
Maintaining operation effectiveness and efficiency
Reducing hidden costs (e.g. high transaction costs incurred when changes are made to services, service levels, or demand levels in a trial-and-error manner)
Publicizing and substantiating hidden benefits (e.g. reduced lock-in through leasing assets rather than buying them)
Uses of automation, web-based functionality, cloud, support tools, etc. to reduce the cost of providing service, and better allow scalability without commensurate cost increases.

Use Value Analysis to:

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Wed, 24 Jul 2013 16:17:00 -0500

· Test and validate planning assumptions

· Identify and confirm stakeholder values

· Create a shared vision or agreed direction

· Develop alignment to Corporate directions

· Establish Master Planning principles and objectives, and

· Define key challenges and strategies

Data Quality Factors

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 11:20:00 -0500

INTRINSIC

· Accuracy

· Lineage

· Semantic

· Structure

CONTEXT

· Completeness

· Consistency

· Currency

· Timeliness

· Reasonableness

· Identification

Data Consistency

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 11:15:00 -0500

Presentation: Common presentation formats for each data element are defined. Data elements that are presented in a screen or a form will conform to the defined presentation format.

Presentation completeness: Each data presentation format can convey all information within the attributes. Every defined presentation format will be verified to ensure that it can present all values the displayed attribute can take.

Null presentation: Standards for the presentation of missing information for each data type are defined. Any data element that may be null must have a defined representation for the absent value. If there are multiple reasons for absent values that can be captured in the data (e.g., "unavailable" vs. "not applicable") there will be multiple null representations.

Capture and collection: Data entry edits and data importation rules should be defined for each data element. Participants must apply the defined data edit and collection rules.

Data Timeliness

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 11:12:00 -0500

Accessibility: Newly posted records should be available to enterprise applications within a specified time period. Policies specifying acceptable time delays must be provided. Time delays must be measured and recorded.

Response time: Ensure that requested data is provided within the acceptable time period. Expectations for response time must be specified. Requested data must be received by the requestor within the specified time period.

Strategic Alignment Components: Business & IT

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Fri, 7 Jun 2013 13:52:00 -0500

BUSINESS STRATEGY

· Scope – Includes the markets, products, services, groups of customers/clients, and locations where an enterprise competes as well as the buyers, competitors, suppliers and potential competitors that affect the competitive business environment.

· Competencies – The critical success factors and core competencies that provide a firm with a potential competitive edge. This includes brand, research, manufacturing and product development, cost and pricing structure, and sales and distribution channels.

· Governance – How companies set the relationship between management stockholders and the board of directors. Also included are how the company is affected by government regulations, and how the firm manages their relationships and alliances with strategic partners.

ORGANIZATION INFRASTRUCTURE & PROCESSES

· Administrative Structure – The way the firm organizes its businesses. Examples include central, decentralize, matrix, horizontal, vertical, geographic, and functional.

· Processes - How the firm's business activities (the work performed by employees) operate or flow. Major issues include value-added activities and process improvement.

· Skills – H/R considerations such as how to hire/fire, motivate, train/educate, and culture.

IT STRATEGY

· Technology Scope - The important information applications and technologies

· Systemic Competencies - Those capabilities (e.g., access to information that is important to the creation/achievement of a company's strategies) that distinguishes the IT services.

· IT Governance - How the authority for resources, risk, and responsibility for IT is shared between business partners, IT management and service providers. Project selection and prioritization issues are included here.

IT INFRASTRUCTURE AND PROCESSES

· Architecture - The technology priorities, policies, and choices that allow applications, software, networks, hardware, and data management to be integrated into a cohesive platform.

· Processes - Those practices and activities carried out to develop and maintain applications and manage IT infrastructure.

· Skills - IT human resource considerations such as how to hire/fire, motivate, train/educate, and culture.

Strategic Value

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Thu, 6 Jun 2013 09:16:00 -0500

1. Cost focus: Drawing on the value discipline of operational excellence

a) Price products and services at lowest cost

b) Drive economies of scale through shared best practices

2. Value differentiation as perceived by customers: Drawing on the value discipline of customer intimacy

a) Meet client expectations for quality at reasonable cost

b) Make the customers' product selection as easy as possible

c) Provide all information needed to service any client from any service point

3. Flexibility and agility: Drawing on the value discipline of product and service innovation

a) Grow in cross-selling capabilities

b) Develop new products and services rapidly

c) Create capacity to manufacture in any location for a particular order

4. Growth: How the base of the business will expand

a) Expand aggressively into underdeveloped and emerging markets

b) Carefully grow internationally to meet the needs of customers that are expanding their business

c) Target growth through specific product and customer niches

5. Human resources: Where people policies fit in

a) Create an environment that maximizes intellectual productivity

b) Maintain a high level of professional and technical expertise

c) Identify and facilitate the movement of talented people

6. Management orientation: Different aspects of business governance and decision making

a) Maximize independence in local operations with a minimum of mandates

b) Make management decisions close to the line

c) Create a management culture of information sharing (to maintain or generate new business)

Attributes of Good Metric

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Thu, 6 Jun 2013 09:13:00 -0500

Relevant
Practical
Actionable
Reported or communicated
Owned

IT Value Formula

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Thu, 6 Jun 2013 08:42:00 -0500

Benefits
     + Product capability
     + Time to market
     + Timeliness
     + Product evolution

Costs
     - Development
     - Rework
     - Knowledge recovery
     - Legacy
-----------------------------------
                VALUE
===================

Build SIPOC

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Wed, 5 Jun 2013 07:49:00 -0500

1. State process name. Use a Verb + Noun format (e.g. recruit Staff).

2. Detail Outputs. These are the deliverables that the process produces (e.g. a report, or letter).

3. Identify Customers. These are the people who receive the Outputs. Every Output should have a Customer.

4. Detail Inputs, or process triggers. They will often be tangible (e.g. a customer request)

5. List Suppliers. They supply the inputs. Every input should have a Supplier.

6. Add the sub-processes that make up the process. These are the activities that are carried out to convert the inputs into outputs. They will form the basis of a process map.

LEAN Sins

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Tue, 4 Jun 2013 10:29:00 -0500

Defects and deviations
Excessive motion / activities / procedures / processes
Excessive resources due to sub-optimized resource leveling and redundant activities
Over production
Unnecessary processing time due to fragmented workflow or not needed processing steps
Unnecessary/ ineffective handoffs resulting from verification loops and excessive approvals
Waiting time for response / approvals / documents

LEAN Improvement Steps

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Adler) — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:14:00 -0500

Specify value from the perspective of the end customer.
Identify all the steps in the value stream, eliminating those activities, processes, and policies that do not create value.
Flow products and service smoothly toward the customer.
Let the customer demand pull value from the next upstream activity.
Pursue perfection through continuous improvement.