Slides from my presentation at the 2014 Legal Services Corporation Technology Innovation Grants (TIG) conference in Jacksonville on technology strategic planning.

1. Developing A
Strategic
Technology Plan
Peter Campbell
CIO
Legal Services Corporation

2. Organizational Planning
• A Technology Plan has to
integrate with and support
broader organizational
planning
• A unified strategic plan ties
together the strategic
plan, business plans, and
budget

3. Definitions
• A Strategic Plan describes the
key strategies that will
accomplish the mission. These
tie directly to the mission
statement, goals and values.
• A Business Plan outlines the
steps required to accomplish
the strategies.

4. Strategic
Implementation
• Technology plans aren’t laundry
lists of applications and
systems to be installed.
• A strategic technology plan
must be well-informed by
business needs and developed
in light of org-wide goals.

5. Comprehensive Evaluation
 SWOT analyses
 Technical and end-user
assessments of options
 Clear understanding of
business needs versus
software assumptions
 Creativity

6. SWOT Analyses
Outsourced VOIP
Strengths Weaknesses
• Outsourced maintenance
• Vendor handles security
• Subject to bandwidth
issues
• Reliant on vendor for
issue resolution
Threats Opportunities
• Vendor goes out of
business
• Vendor is hacked
• Former capital costs are
expensed
• Improved remote phone
use
• Cost savings

7. • Software evaluations have to
be made by both the
technologists and the users,
and those decisions have to
be vetted from the top.
• If the users don’t know what
the application will do for
them, it’s not worth buying
360° Assessments

8. 360° Assessments
• IT vets the compatibility and
technical requirements.
• Users assess the features and
functionality.
• Participation in selection
increases ownership and
commitment to project.

9. Software Assumptions
• Software comes with
assumptions about how you
operate.
• Key to software adoption is
comfort with software
assumptions.
• Build vs. Buy should factor in
Build vs. Customize.

10. Creativity
• With smaller budgets, larger
risks are acceptable.
• Look for creative alternatives:
–Refurbished
equipment, Open
Source, Strategic
partnerships
• Use SWOTs to determine
where risks are warranted

11. Technology Planning
• You can’t budget effectively on
a year-to-year basis.
• Long-term planning allows you
to spread out recurring costs
and space out large projects in
ways that even out the
expense.

12. Technology Planning
• Develop a road map for major
system upgrades and
replacements to smooth and
foster adoption.
• Large projects, such as email
system upgrades, can be
planned in ways that ease the
pain for everyone involved.

13. Plan Elements
• IT Mission Statement
• IT Goals
– Tie directly to org goals/mission
• State of Technology
• Key Operating Principles
• Major Initiatives
• Chronological Plan

14. Questions Answered
• How will the actions laid out
in the plan support the
mission and strategic plan?
• How will staff be resourced to
use the technology?
• Does the organization have a
strategy for application
support and training?

15. Conclusion
• Good planning requires that
you understand who you are,
what technology must do well
for you, and where you can
get away with it by doing
things more creatively, or,
perhaps, not quite as
elegantly as a for-profit
organization might.

16. • Peter Campbell
• CIO
• Legal Services Corporation
• pcampbell@lsc.gov
• http://www.lsc.gov
• @peterscampbell