Project Description

Describe the current situation related to IT in one specific organization. The description should include structural information: the overall systems’ architecture, the organizational structure of the IT function and its positioning within the organization, the standing relationships with external entities (e.g. providers). Include information on the historical evolution: how was the situation 3 years ago and 10 years ago? You may give particular attention to one or a few concepts (from the course literature) that are particularly relevant to your case. Discuss shortly how theory on IT governance and enterprise architectures matches your case. Are there any unexpected issues or mismatches between case and theory? Do not forget to include some general information for the organization (e.g. public vs private, national multinational, type of business, overall size in terms of headcount and turnover, years since establishment).

The case description should at least be based on one interview with a person involved with the organization’s IT in addition to other, secondary sources. We expect you to follow sound academic standards of writing. The interview should be conducted and documented accordingly. Reference what articles you base your analysis on, and where you position your own writing in relation to the course material.

Around 10 pages, hand in by 1^st March at 12.00 by email. Presentation in seminar on Friday 1^st March.

Describe processes related to IT in the same organization. The description could include any of the following: systems development and project management processes, systems everyday running and maintenance processes, IT governance processes (the team will have to choose a theme). Include information on standards/documented methods/certifications that pose specific requirements for IT processes (if relevant in this organization). The process description should be high-level with two or three detailed examples on specific activities that will be selected by the team. Use a specific recent project/initiative and describe both the normative process for the specific activity and how it was practically applied. Document why the specific activities selected are interesting, identify challenges for these activities based on the specific past experiences of the organization (from interviews) and/or using the course literature (you are expected to use the course literature actively and explicitly). Map the organization’s current IT governance on the Governance Design Framework and the Governance Arrangements Matrix, and compute the score for the organization. How well the objectives on the Governance Design Framework are achieved by the arrangements of the Governance Arrangements Matrix?

This part is an addition to deliverable no.1, in total the document should now be 20 – 25 pages. Hand in by 22^nd March at noon by email. Presentation in seminar on Friday March 22^nd.

Make recommendations, using concepts taken from theory, which would enable the organization to develop, implement and manage IT solutions more effectively. Explore the challenges and prerequisites that would need to be in place in order to apply these concepts.

This part is an addition to deliverable no 2, in total the document should now be max 30 pages. Hand in by 12^th April at noon by email. Presentation in seminar on Friday April 12^th.

Select three of the project cases and/or cases from literature (final group reports will be made available). Briefly introduce the cases and compare similarities and differences across them. Reflect on to what extent course theory and concepts are useful to propose improvements, identify possible reasons that explain why the organizations under study are “far from”/”close to” governance and management approaches proposed in the literature.

~7 pages, hand-in by email by May 10th at noon.