It Strategic Plan Provided Direction, Organizational Alignment and Tangible Results

Greater Cincinnati Water Works (GCWW) is one of a number of departments that delivers services for the City of Cincinnati, Ohio. GCWW has seven divisions, including Business Services, Commercial Services, Distribution, Engineering, Supply, IT Services, and Water Quality and Treatment. GCWW is an enterprise fund in the City of Cincinnati.Upon completing their previous IT plan, GCWW saw the need to develop a new direction for the next several years based on their strategic business direction and business requirements. They formed a cross-divisional group (the IT Round Table) comprised of the lead IT staff for each division. This self-managed group established a set of priorities, including developing a new strategic IT plan. GCWW hired a consultant to assist getting the plan done.The resulting Information Technology Strategic Plan (ITSP) provides the recommended direction for key applications, as well as organizational recommendations, and a variety of tactical recommendations based on GCWW's business and organizational priorities. The roadmap includes recommended investment levels, timelines, key milestones, goals, and recommendations impacts.IT staff, business users, and the GCWW leadership team were actively involved in the project. They have very strong ownership in the plan and are actively carrying out the recommendations. Key planning project activities included IT Roundtable meetings, focus groups, data quality analyses, and an assessment of IT business practices and the existing IT governance structure.The plan was completed in 2005; GCWW is actively carrying out the plan. This paper addresses:Why GCWW undertook this IT strategic planning projectProject goalsHow they approached the projectKey recommendationsKey issues that were addressed during the projectResults and benefits to date