Leveraging best practice research is always useful – just make sure it applies to your organization before implementing changes.
This week’s resources are focused on improving the practice of IT.
Have another great week.
Dan Swanson
1. The Faculty of Information Technology
The IT Faculty helps chartered accountants make the best possible use of IT. The faculty represents chartered accountants’ IT-related interests and expertise, and contributes to IT-related public affairs. It keeps people in business up-to-date by providing a range of products, services and publications.
http://www.icaew.com/index.cfm/route/158987/icaew_ga/en/Technical_amp_Business_Topics/Faculties/IT_Faculty_home_page/Information_Technology_Faculty
2. Executive Guide: Maximizing the Success of Chief Information Officers: Learning From Leading Organizations
This guide is intended to assist federal agencies in maximizing the success of chief information officers (CIO). Principles and practices gleaned from the case studies presented in this guide offer concrete suggestions on what agency executives can do to ensure the effectiveness of their CIO organizations. The specific key conditions and strategies described in this guide can be used as suggestions for federal CIOs to apply or adapt to their environments, where appropriate.
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d01376g.pdf
3. Neal Whitten’s No-Nonsense Advice for Successful Projects
Successful projects don’t just happen—they are made to happen. This book goes beyond the basics of project management and reveals leading-edge best practices that make all the difference between leading consistently successful projects and playing the victim with troubled projects. http://www.nealwhittengroup.com/
4. A Corporate Security Strategy for Coping with the Climate Crisis
US military strategists, CIA analysts, international agency officials and Nobel Prize winning economists concur with the consensus of the world’s scientific community: the Climate Crisis is a planetary security issue, as well as a national security issue for each of the one hundred ninety two countries that belong to the United Nations. But the Climate Crisis is also, by extension, a corporate security issue, as well as, yes, a cyber security issue.
5. GAO Best Practices: Reviews
Best Practices Reviews identify other public and private sector organizations that are widely recognized for major improvements in their performance in a specific area, such as financial management. The processes, practices, and systems identified in these leading organizations are referred to as best practices and provide a model for other organizations with similar functions and/or missions. http://www.gao.gov/docsearch/featured/bp_reviews.html
6. GAO Best Practices: Methodology
Best Practices Methodology studies use the processes, practices, and systems from best practice reviews to provide a framework for assessing similar programs, operations, or functions. Because organizations are diverse and complex, wholesale changes designed to emulate those of a leading organization may not be effective for another agency. Thus, an agency/organization seeking to adopt the best practice techniques of leading organizations should first understand the similarities and differences between itself and those organizations and then the causal links between the successes of the leading organizations and the best practice techniques.
http://www.gao.gov/docsearch/featured/bp_methodology.html
