FIT3174 IT Strategy and Governance

Learning outcomes:

Demonstrate the capability to develop IT strategies which are consistent with the corporate strategy of business organisations, and to describe how IT strategies can be applied to improve IT function and organisational performance.

Aims:

This assignment is designed to assess your understanding of the IT portfolio and how organisations can employ the IT portfolio for executing strategies. Students are required to demonstrate their understanding on how various technologies can support organisational value-chains.

This assignment is a case study approach to general problem solving (which involves problem analysis and solution planning), also applicable in IT strategy uses. You are to choose a case organisation, based on your research about the case organisation and applying the knowledge learnt to date in this unit. The knowledge you need to apply is all linked to planning an IT strategy

Students are provided with initial resources needed for the assessment. You are required to seek additional material from a variety of sources. You must specify any sources used in the submission using appropriate referencing styles.

Task 1: Understanding the technology portfolio

Demonstrate your understanding of the technology portfolio of the case organisation.

You may select one specific business area of the organisation (e.g. logistics, marketing, sales) or decide to have a broader perspective (e.g. across all areas of the business).

You must justify your understanding of the portfolio by identifying the purpose of each technology in the case organisation. Identify at least five technologies in the case organisation’s technology portfolio.

Task 2: Understanding the value-chain and supply chain

Develop a value chain using the Porter’s value chain approach for the selected case organisation. You must provide two specific examples for each of the components in the value-chain. Provide a brief justification for your value chain and its activities.

Task 3: Developing IT/business strategy 

Develop two new IT/business strategies for the case organisation and discuss the role of the IT portfolio in each of the strategies.

Your discussion of each strategy should include the strategy categories, e.g. type, level

Discuss at least two applicable theories or frameworks, for example (but not limited to) Porter’s Five Forces, Resource Based View of the firm, Contingent Resource Based Theory, to provide a logical rationale for the strategies that you have developed

Discuss the 6 W’s and the approach for measuring the outcomes that were discussed at the lecture and tutorials

There are marks allocated for the overall coherence of the strategies