Introduction

Course Objectives 

• Develop an effective IT strategy
• Increase project delivery rates and manage a portfolio of projects
• Lead effectively in a technical crisis
• Set clear IT contract objectives
• Effectively negotiate technical agreements

Target Audience

• IT Managers responsible for leading IT teams and functions
• Technical professionals transitioning into IT management roles
• IT Project Managers and Program Managers
• IT Directors and senior IT leaders
• Infrastructure, operations, and service delivery managers
• Enterprise architects and technical team leads
• Business relationship managers working between IT and business units
• Professionals involved in IT strategy, governance, and planning
• Vendor, contract, and procurement managers dealing with IT services
• Anyone aiming to develop leadership, communication, and strategic IT management skills

Course Outline 

Day 1: Business and IT strategy

• Business strategy
  • What is strategy?
  • Solving the problems of business strategy
  • Leading approaches to creating a top-level strategy
  • Case study ‘Setting corporate direction’
• IT strategy
  • A proven process for IT strategy
  • Aligning IT strategy to business priorities
  • Balanced scorecard IT objectives
  • Enterprise architecture in IT strategy
  • Looking for a better way — optimizing IT strategy
  • Strategic plans — plot on a page
  • Communicating strategy

Day 2: Project excellence

• Advanced project, program and portfolio management
  • Validating project business cases using investment appraisals and sensitivity analysis
  • IT project management wisdom — lessons learned from successful and failed projects
  • Effective project governance and reporting
  • Project portfolio management guidelines
• The first 90 days
  • Making an impact — the first 90 days
  • Strategic importance and tactical urgency
  • Case study ‘Priorities of the new IT director’
• Business change leadership
  • The emotional cycle of business change
  • Guidelines for successful change projects
  • IT's a unique role in business change management

Day 3: Communicating technology

• Communication skills
  • The art of communicating technology
  • Presenting IT to non-technical audiences
  • Creating a compelling technology message — IT’s an elevator pitch
  • Handling difficult (IT) situations — forum theatre and role play
  • Group debate — What has IT ever done for us?
• Business relationship management
  • Business relationship scenarios
  • The POSTMAN technique for identifying priority business requirements
  • The advanced use of questioning strategies – opening and closing dialogue
  • Methods of influencing outcomes

Day 4: Operational and crisis management

• Continual Service Improvement (CSI) models
  • Overview of different frameworks, including ITIL, Six Sigma and Lean IT
  • Techniques of root cause analysis
  • CSI examples and guidelines
• Crisis leadership
  • Preparing for major (technology) incidents
  • Managing major incidents
  • Leading in crisis — the art of communication
  • Roleplay ‘Handling difficult situations’ — media simulation

Day 5: Commercial acumen

• Vendors
  • Making good decisions
  • Avoiding supplier pitfalls
  • Choosing good technology partners
  • Creating a culture of partnership
  • Harnessing vendor innovation
• Essentials of IT contracts 
  • Contract guidelines for successful IT
  • Getting what you want from your legal team
  • Designing contract flexibility
  • Managing IT contract portfolios
• IT negotiation strategy
  • Creating a negotiation strategy
  • Rational supporting arguments
  • Agreeing on final positions and BATNA
  • Negotiating as a team
  • Delivering better-negotiated outcomes
  • Negotiation role plays and case studies