TY - JOUR T1 - Using a Capability Perspective to Sustain IT Improvement JF - Technology Innovation Management Review Y1 - 2014 A1 - Paul E. Renaud A1 - Sheppard D. Narkier A1 - Sonia D. Bot KW - capability improvement KW - capability maturity model KW - change management KW - competency capability KW - enterprise architecture KW - IT function KW - organizational culture KW - organizational learning KW - process capability KW - shadow IT KW - technology capability AB - A firm’s dependency on the information technology (IT) function is increasingly central to its ability to innovate. The IT function must balance this need for change with sustaining consistent, highly reliable operation of all existing services. A firm’s ability to rapidly change IT is impeded by its legacy portfolio of applications and infrastructure because changes need to be very carefully managed and understood in order to avoid unintended consequences leading to system failure and process breakdown. The change imperative for IT is urgent and often determines how IT is valued by the rest of the firm. Improving the IT function’s agility requires improvement in IT capabilities, which can be categorized into three broad classes: technology, process, and competency. This article identifies the critical success factors for creating sustainable change for each of these three capability classes. It draws on the practical experience of the authors and leverages appropriate standards that provide grounding for change within the IT function of the firm, along with the roles and tasks that will be involved in this change agency. The article is of primary benefit for IT executives seeking to sustain an ongoing, systematic transformation of the IT function to enable IT entrepreneurship and agility. PB - Talent First Network CY - Ottawa VL - 4 UR - http://timreview.ca/article/802 IS - 6 U1 - The Lanigan Group Paul Renaud is Chief Executive of The Lanigan Group, which specializes in customer-driven product strategy and business-aligned IT service delivery. He is an advisor to CEOs, CTOs, and CIOs in the technology community and he is a member of industry advisory boards, including Queen’s University’s Innovation Council for the School of Computing and Ubiquity’s Chairman’s Advisory Board prior to its acquisition by Avaya. His previous roles include VP Business Intelligence Development at Cognos, Director of Computing & Networking and the Advanced Computing Research Lab at Bell Northern Research, Director of Nortel’s Public Network Switching Capacity program and Chief Architect at SHL Systemhouse. Mr. Renaud is a co-author of several patents and authored Introduction to Client/Server Systems, which was published in four languages and widely used as a university textbook. He has a BSc degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from Queens University. U2 - Sheppard Narkier is a business-driven, senior information technology executive who generates business value where investment in enabling technology is an integral part of a company’s business strategy. Sheppard’s experience spans roles as a senior executive, enterprise architect, systems engineer, and developer. He has been recognized for building strong, diverse, and motivated teams that have delivered measurable business value in diverse IT environments. He has implemented mission-critical systems, reusable assets, and technology roadmaps in premier financial services institutions such as the American Stock Exchange, S&P, and UBS-IB. Sheppard was a co-founder and Chief Scientist of Adaptivity, which was acquired by EMC. Sheppard is responsible guiding EMC’s application transformation portfolio strategy. Sheppard has a BA in both Mathematics and Anthropology from Oswego State, NY. He is the co-author on several patents, has written thought-leadership blogs for Network World, Adaptivity, and EMC InFocus, and has ghost-written the book Next Generation Datacenters in Financial Services: Driving Extreme Efficiency and Effective Cost Savings. U3 - Sonia Bot is an accomplished operational executive who has experienced a wide range of climates in businesses, from unprecedented extreme highs and lows through to various stages of lifecycle development, transformation, and turnaround. She is an entrepreneurial-minded leader and strategic thinker with extensive experience in technology innovation and global business management. Ms. Bot is the Chief Executive of The BOT Consulting Group Inc., where she partners with executives and entrepreneurs of global technology companies in to assist in building, growing, and transforming ventures and to solve wicked business problems. Ms. Bot is an accomplished industry presenter, author of numerous peer-reviewed articles, and industry executive member of university and business acceleration boards. Her prior work experience includes Research In Motion (BlackBerry), Nortel, Bell-Northern Research, IBM, and TransCanada Pipelines. She holds degrees in Computer Science with Systems Design / Electrical Engineering (BMath) from the University of Waterloo and Biomedical Engineering (MASc) from the University of Toronto, and she is a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt. ER -