Planning and managing the information system - a manager's guide

It is no longer enough for information systems (IS) to support the operation. Information systems should be developed as part of the strategic plan of the organization. We first must recognize the culture and the financial position of the business before assessing whether an IS is worth investing in; together with the information technology department we must take into account what technical support we already have and if we can make enough use of it. Planning must be well structured but on assessing various planning methods we find that this task is best handled by experienced teams that may consist ideally of IS staff and management combined. Information systems are costly and slow to develop, so we must plan well and in line with the strategic policy of our business.