Strategic Information Systems Planning: A Literature Review

Strategic information systems planning (SISP) pertains to the process of creating plans for the deployment of information systems to fulfill corporate strategic objectives. Though practice of planning for Information Systems is in existence for more than four decades, SISP continues to be one of the major issues in the corporate environment with the increased focus on IS to gain competitive advantage. Numerous research articles have been written in the SISP area dealing with various issues involved therein. Research on SISP has evolved over a period of time with various themes dominating at different times. This research study will systematically examine the published research in the area of information systems planning to deduce the state of the art of the field and provides framework for future research

Ontology of Strategic Information Systems Planning

Strategically planning and aligning information systems is still one the most challenging IT tasks for organizations. Literature has contributed to describe and analyze the phenomena labeling the process of Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) as the one that pursues the alignment of the IS/IT initiatives to achieve business goals. Statistics reveal, however, that those goals are significantly not being achieved, leaving the discussion open to know whether the SISP models, frameworks and methods are correct, complete, applicable, feasible or not. In order to understand and visualize the potential gaps and biases in the SISP literature, the paper introduces an ontology of the SISP process that allows systematically and symmetrically expand study to contribute to maturation of the scientific field as well as to identify the critical omissions within it. Later, the ontological analysis will allow the visualization of bright, light, and blind/blank areas of knowledge documented on SISP

Strategic alignment and Information Systems success: Towards an evaluation model for firm performance

There are several models about the development of a successful Information Systems Planning process, while very little research has focused on the contribution of the Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) process to firm performance. The assessment of the process is a decision problem and managers should evaluate alternatives so that it could be solved. Both executives and researchers need to be aware of how the alignment of business and IS strategies impact firm performance. The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual model of the determinants of the SISP process and success in Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to assess the contribution of these two variables to firm performance. Understanding those phases may help IS executives concentrate their efforts on organizations’ objectives and recognize the greatest value of the planning process in their firms. This paper contributes to IS executives in Greek SMEs who do not concentrate on strategic planning during the development of IS and they focus only on the technical issues. As a result, they should understand the significance of the SISP process in order to formulate and implement IS strategy which will be aligned with business objectives and increase the success of SMEs

Evaluating IT alignment and performance in SMEs using multivariate regression analysis

New competitive challenges have forced Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to re-examine their internal environment in order to improve competitive advantage. IT investments can improve firm performance in a way that it would be in “alignment” with business strategy. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the contemporary impact of IT and business strategy on business performance, incorporating all these constructs into a model that is tested using Multivariate Regression Analysis. Data were collected from IS executives in 160 Greek SMEs. The results of this survey show that Strategy conception and formulation have a significant impact on business performanc

A FRAMEWORK FOR INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS CAPABILITY ON STRATEGIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS PLANNING OUTCOMES

The Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) process is critical for ensuring the effectiveness of the contribution of Information Technology (IT)/Information Systems (IS) to the organisation. A sophisticated SISP process can greatly increase the chances of positive planning outcomes. While effective IS capabilities are seen as crucial to an organisation’s ability to generate IT-enabled competitive advantages, there exists a gap in the understanding of the IS competencies which contribute to the forming of an effective SISP capability. In light of these gaps, this study investigates how do IS competencies impact the SISP process, and its outcomes? To address this question, a model for investigating the impact of IS collaboration and IS personnel competencies on the SISP process is proposed. Further research is planned to undertake a survey of top Australian organisations in industries characterised by high IT innovation and competition, to test the proposed model and hypotheses

The relationship between Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) and facilitators to achieve successful business outcomes in South Korean organizations

Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) is an important process in the implementation and use of IT systems in today’s dynamic and increasingly digitalized organizations. However, SISP is not a straightforward task, it is a process that covers simultaneous multiple planning issues often in changing environmental and organizational climates. Although SISP has been widely studied, and evaluating the SISP process has matured, theory on SISP facilitators that enable successful outcomes remain sparse. The main objective of this paper is to explore such facilitators and to investigate their relationshipand contribution in achieving SISP success. By postal surveying a random sample of managers with SISP experience in South Korean organizations, we modeled the relationship between facilitators of SISP and their outcomes. The study used Structural Equation Modelling to analyze and validate its findings. This study suggests that facilitators positively affect successful SISP through business and IT alignment. It also demonstrates that effective SISP has a positive effect on organizational outcomes by ensuring organizational capabilities and IT infrastructure flexibility. The findings of this study expounding the role of facilitators adds to the theory of SISP and provides a guide to planners and managers responsible for information systems

Three Decades of Research on Strategic Information System Plan Development

Strategic information system planning (SISP), including aligning business and IS/IT strategies, has been the conventional wisdom known for decades to academics and practitioners. Since the 1980s, many tools and models have been developed to facilitate strategic information system planning and implementation. These are development processes that define a set of steps for SISP or approaches that facilitate part of the SISP process. This article employs a systematic review approach and starts with a search of 2730 papers in nine top-ranked scientific databases. After an in-depth study of these papers, a final set of 85 studies is retrieved that focus directly on SISP development. We use this final set of papers to compare the steps proposed in different processes and the relevant approaches for each step. Additionally, an in-depth analysis of development processes has produced a generic seven-phase framework covering activities introduced in the literature. These seven phases are: initiation, business analysis, IS/IT analysis, strategy formulation, portfolio planning, implementation, and evaluation. The paper also classifies approaches that facilitate SISP and concludes with recommendations for practitioners and researchers

The Impact of Planning and Other Organizational Factors on the Success of Small Information Technology Projects

While extensive empirical research has been conducted in the past to assess the value of project management and planning on large projects and to evaluate the impact of critical success factors (CSFs) and other organizational factors, little research is available on the techniques and factors used on small IT projects, and their influence on project success. This dissertation presents a research study which tests the relationship between the type and level of project planning performed on small Information Technology (IT) projects, and the success of those projects. The research considers the influence of well-documented project critical success factors (CSFs) and other project and organizational characteristics, using empirical data from 79 projects of varying complexity in which the primary objective is to upgrade the operating system on personal computers in corporate systems and networks from Windows XP to Windows 7. Data was collected via a self-directed on-line survey administered to participants on each of the projects in the study, as well as through analysis of project planning artifacts from each project. This research found that many of the factors that correlate to success on large projects also influence the success of small IT projects. However, it also identified several distinct differences between large and small projects that may inform project practitioners on techniques to apply during the execution of small IT projects to improve their probability of success

Searching for the engine of business-IT alignment in social capital.

This thesis examines alignment between the business and IS communities through the lens of social capital. Although alignment has been studied in great depth for many years, it is still a concern for IS managers and practitioners. The study developed a tiered and dimensional framework approach to social capital and applied it to four cases in the investment management sector via a series of interviews and a short questionnaire targeting managers within those firms. Taking an interpretative approach to the subject, the study examined both qualitative and quantitative data looking at the impact that network associations, shared norms, trust, reciprocity-expectation and collective efficacy have on alignment within the participant firms. The study found that although business and IS participants believed that alignment was valuable for their firms to achieve their objectives and recognised the benefits of working collaboratively, they did not tend to share a view on the importance of different types of social capital. Business managers found value in personal relationships which allowed the building of trust and expectations of the fulfilment of mutual obligations. IS managers placed greater emphasis on impersonal aspects such as formal engagement and decision-making. The research concluded that whereas the business perceived alignment to be a social experience, IS viewed it as a process