CIO Organization Memo

Part Two

1. IT Strategies

2. IT Portfolio Roadmap- the IT portfolio roadmap illustrates the time frame for developing the different system and the time frame is represented by the bar in the table.  The time frame is stretched over a six-quarter time schedule with each quarterly period comprising of three months. In addition, the quarterly time frame support to outline the highly prioritized projects as those which are performed in the first quarter are likely to be most relevant to an organization (Kuster, 2015). 

3. Proposed Project- Marketing analytics is the proposed project that will support digital marketing efforts by conveying hidden patterns pertaining to consumers and their purchasing power as well as trade frequency. Data flagged from social networking and other digital marketing platforms can be transformed into insightful information structures and help the company to acquire new customers and increase market presence as well as re-align its business objectives in accordance to the analyzed consumer’s data.

4. Risk Management

a) Project failure

1) Project failure from use of inappropriate project management practices and poor planning factors that result in poor development of system requirements, cost overload, lack to maintain schedule, and unresponsive products.

2) The impact of project failure include waste of resources, lack of competitive systems, and business disruption (Hampton, 2015). 

3) The best risk management technique is mitigation.

b) Conflict during development process and transition period

1) Conflict is likely to occur due to the different attitudes and perception that exist among users, developers, and stakeholders. Developers have different opinions regarding the most suitable approach of development while employees who feel threaten by the new systems might resort to resistance against the new system.

2) The impact of conflict during development and transition pertain to lengthy timelines for development and implementation.

3) The best risk management technique is to mitigate.

c) Security issues

1) Security issues are likely to occur especially when an entity is implementing new systems as they flaws and threats posed to the system are merely known or encountered before.

2) The impact of these risk is business disruption and lack of confidentiality as well as integrity.

3) The best risk management approach is to mitigate using the best known security testing techniques and applying the most suitable solutions.

d) User awareness and training level

1) User awareness and training level is another notable risk associated with merging existing systems with new systems as most users will not have the capacity to understand how the new information systems works (Hampton, 2015).

2) The impact of these risks include increasing the vectors of vulnerabilities, business disruption, and user dissatisfaction which can result into loss of business and customers.

3) The best risk management technique is to mitigate by developing adequate training programs and materials such as reference manuals.

5. Business Continuity Plan

a. The steps that should be used to develop BCP should ensure that managerial and technical actions as well as prospective incident response strategies are created in accordance with the anticipate uncertainties or hazards as well as the posture of the company’s information system. The formal business continuity plan should consider small-based hazards and worst-case encounters and they should examine all disaster scenarios such as natural hazards, power outages, and loss of a data center, premises, or personnel as well as information system attacks and excessive workloads (Clark, 2017). 

b. Personnel involved in the business continuity plan include chief information officer, business development officer, security administrators and analysts, and supervisors who will be designated with development of roles. In addition, third-party service providers are also important to BCP as they will determine how an impact on the business may affect the company.

c. Precise financial reporting system, freight tracking system, and fleet management system are the most critical systems as they support the core business operations.

d. Providing adequate logical and physical security controls, commitment to quality, and ensuring these systems are operated by skilled personnel are the core steps to ensuring that these systems remain operational (Clark, 2017). 

References

Clark, R. A. (2017). Validating your business continuity plan: Ensuring your BCP really works.

Hampton, J. J. (2015). Fundamentals of enterprise risk management: How top companies assess risk, manage exposure, and seize opportunity.

Kuster, J. (2015). Project management handbook.

Sweeting, J. (2014). Project cost estimating: Principles and practice. Rugby, Warwickshire, UK: Institution of Chemical Engineers