How Successful is Your Information Technology?

See how your company, business or organization does on this quick and easy test. When you're done, click on the button at the bottom to see your score.

	True	False	Not Sure
1. Most of our system users know enough about where system results come from to be able to "sanity check" the results. They don't assume the computer system is always right.
2. When data in our systems is incorrect, the system users know how to fix the bad data, so they don't blame the computer system.
3. My company has an IT strategy; both business and IT employees have seen it; and the business users understand it.
4. We always try to use the latest technology in my company.
5. IT is mostly about software, computers and networks.
6. We know we're spending enough on IT infrastructure when we're spending about the same amount as our competitors.
7. We use ROI (Return on Investment) to select IT projects.
8. The IT organization does the projects that the business users tell them to do.
9. Most business people in our company trust the people in IT.
10. Most IT people in our company trust the business people.
11. We always try to select the best software package for each need, even if we end up using multiple software packages for the same purpose in different parts of the company.
12. We buy large off-the-shelf software packages (like SAP, Oracle, etc.) then adapt them to fit our existing processes.
13. Money should be budgeted for software maintenance the same way it's budgeted for hardware maintenance.
14. I've seen a diagram that shows how all of our company's systems interrelate.
15. When we define a project, we always try to specify cost, schedule (due date) and scope.
16. Information technology is very complex.
17. Because of the complexity of IT, it's difficult for IT people to do things right.
18. My company undertakes large IT projects that take a year or more before we see results.
19. My company's IT organization is effective (it's doing the right things).
20. My company's IT organization is efficient (it's doing things well).

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About the Author

Harwell Thrasher has spent over 30 years working in and around IT organizations: as a developer of information systems, as a manager of software development groups, and as a technology vice-president. Harwell has worked for major companies, including Digital Equipment Corporation (now part of Hewlett-Packard) and Ceridian Corporation (originally called Control Data Corporation). He's done technology due diligence for over twenty corporate acquisitions in the United States, Canada, the U.K., and Switzerland. He's been a speaker at the Microsoft CIO Summit, and at meetings of numerous technical and non-technical societies. He's seen systems come and go, organizations succeed and fail, and leaders make a difference or get fired. He's seen the difference between mediocre IT and effective IT. Now you can benefit from his experience.

Questions or comments? See Hot Line to Harwell
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How Successful is Your Information Technology?

About the Author