Mastering Management Essential Tools and Techniques For The IT Professional Table Of Contents Introduction...7 Don t We Have People For That?...8 Elements of this Guide...8 Leadership and Decision Making 11 1.1 Leading Your Team...13 Management vs. Leadership...15 The Micromanager and the Mountain...16 Building Your Team...17 Balancing Your Work Team...18 Resolving Conflict In Your Team...20 Analyzing and Rectifying Poor Team Performance...21 Delegation...22 How to Delegate...25 Managing Star Employees...26 Leading By Example: Personal Organization...27 Establishing Prioritized To-Do Lists...29 1.1a Orming Diagnostic Tool...31 1.1b Balance Your Team...32 1.1c Delegation Tool...34 1.1d Time Manager...36 1.2 Management Decision Making...38 Multiple Thinking Caps Open Your Mind...39 Looking Forward: Using A Decision Tree...41 Something Fishy? Apply the Fishbone Diagram...42 Negotiation...43 Focus on BATNA for Better Negotiations...45 1.2a Grid Matrix Decision Tool...46 1.2b Force Field Analysis Tool...47 1.2c Pareto Analysis Tool...48 1.2d Six Hat Decision Making...49 Page 1
1.2e Decision Tree...52 1.2f The Fishbone Diagram...54 1.2g BATNA Tool...55 1.2h BATNA Summary...56 Manager Communication 57 2.1 Communicating To Persuade...59 Persuasion vs. Command...60 Persuasion vs. Negotiation...60 Communication Starts With Listening...61 What Are You Listening For?...62 Formal Listening: Focus Groups...64 Doing the Rounds...65 Assemble Evidence: Costs, Benefits and ROI...66 Your Communications Plan...67 When Do I Need a Communications Plan?...68 Anatomy of a Communications Plan...69 Making Your Communication Persuasive...70 Making Your Case...71 2.1a Meeting Notes Template...73 2.1b Communication Plan Template...75 2.1c Case Document Template...77 2.2 Getting It In Writing...80 Tips for Business Writing...82 Tips For Writing E-mail...83 2.2a Memo Template...84 2.2b Letter Writing Best Practices...85 2.2c Short Report Template...86 2.2d E-Mail Best Practices...87 2.3 Speaking Your Mind...89 Explore Alternatives to Face-to-Face Meetings...91 How To Hold A Stellar Off-Site Meeting...92 Mastering the Art of Conference Calling...94 Public Speaking...94 A Guide to Killer Boardroom Presentations...96 2.3a Agenda Template...98 2.3b Speaker s Notes Template...99 Governance and Performance Metrics 101 Page 2
3.1 Strategic Alignment...103 The IT/Business Alignment Model...104 Toward Alignment...107 IT Value and Measurement...108 Selecting an ROI Tool...111 Value Methodologies...112 3.1a Assess Your Alignment...116 3.1b Balancing IT Measures...122 3.1c ROI Calculation...124 3.2 Governance and Policy...126 Building Your Steering Committee...127 What is an IT Project Charter...128 Internal Service Level Agreements...129 Strategic Fit: Your IT Policies...130 Policy Development Tips...131 Setting Departmental Goals...132 The Annual Report...134 Annual Report Communications/Marketing Plan...135 3.2a Steering Committee Charter...136 3.2b IT Project Inventory...138 3.2c Project Charter...139 3.2d Departmental Goals Template...146 3.2e Internal Service Level Agreement...150 3.2f Annual Report Template...155 Budgeting and Finance 157 4.1 Developing Your Budget...159 Five Steps for Budget Preparation...161 Understanding Allocations (Financial Overhead)...162 Capital Budgeting...164 Ten Tips for Cutting Your Budget...166 4.1a Budget Work Sheet...167 4.1b Budget Planner Spreadsheet...172 4.1c Cost Center Evaluation...173 4.1d Analyzing Your Budget...175 4.2 Guide to Financial Accounting...177 Financial Statements...178 Differential Accounting...180 Page 3
Accounting for Assets...182 Asset Valuation Example Action Plan...185 Budget Benefits of Asset Management...185 Standardize to Reduce Costs...188 Rolling Out an Asset Management Initiative...189 Asset Management Best Practices...191 4.2a Differential Analysis Example...193 4.2b Hardware Asset Inventory...195 4.2c Software Asset Inventory...197 4.2d Tracking Component Lifecycle...198 Managing IT Human Resources 201 5.1 Establishing Your Staffing Needs...203 The Problem with The Core...204 Beyond the Skills Inventory...206 The Full Time Vs. Contract Decision...207 Developing an Experience-Based Staffing Mix...208 Building an Agile Team...209 5.1a Create A Basic Skills Inventory...211 5.1b Review Strategy to Assess Skills...212 5.1c Calculate Staff-to-End-User Ratio...214 5.1d Staffing Benchmark Tools...216 5.2 Recruiting and Hiring...222 The Why and How of Job Descriptions...222 The Art of Writing A Job Advertisement...224 What About Tech Recruiting Agencies?...225 Learn the Art of Conducting Job Interviews...227 References: A Formula to Reduce Hiring Mishaps...228 A Note On Compensation...229 Breaking In the IT Newbies...230 5.2a Job Description Template...232 5.2b Guide To Interviewing Candidates...236 5.2c Checklist for Interviews...240 5.2d Checklist for Reference Checking...241 5.2e New Employee Orientation...243 5.3 Developing Your IT Staff...245 Performance and Professional Growth Plans...246 Performance Reviews...249 The Dollars and Sense of Certification...250 Page 4
One-on-One Training Techniques...252 Create a Training Plan...254 Mentoring...255 Coaching Problem Employees (Instead of Disciplining Them)...256 Notes on Employee Termination...257 Dealing with Downsizing...258 Capture Knowledge Through Exit Interviews...259 Giving References the Right Way...260 5.3a Quarterly Self-Awareness Survey...263 5.3b Performance Review Template...270 5.3c Upward Feedback Worksheet...277 5.3d One-On-One Training Checklist...282 5.3e Individual Training Plan...283 5.3f Exit Interview Sample Questions...285 5.3g Employee Reference Provision Policy...286 Purchasing and Procurement 287 6.1 Build, Buy, Or Outsource?...289 Develop a Business Case...290 Get Inside Users Heads With Use Cases....292 Document Your Functional Requirements...293 Build or Buy Decision Making...294 Examine the Case For Outsourcing...296 How to Avoid Shelfware Proliferation...299 6.1a Purchasing Planning Framework...301 6.1b Business Planning Tool...303 6.1c Business Plan Outline...307 6.1d Use Case Template...308 6.1e Functional Requirements Specification...309 6.1f Outsourcing Analysis Tool...312 6.1g Build/Buy Decision Matrix...314 6.2 The Request for Proposal (RFP)...315 A Process for RFP Development...316 Risks of the RFP Process...318 Anatomy of an RFP...319 6.2a Request For Proposal Worksheet...322 6.2b Checklist for RFP...326 Page 5
6.3 Dealing With Vendors...327 The Negotiation...328 The Contract...329 Acceptance Testing...330 Preferred Vendor Programs...331 Renegotiation...332 Vendor Presentations: Get the Upper Hand...333 Service Level Agreements...334 Negotiating Software Licenses...335 Negotiate Fair Right to Audit Clauses...336 Used IT Gear: Lemonade or Lemons?...337 Is Your Vendor Viable?...338 Outsourcer Failure: Be Prepared...339 Using an ASP? Here s a Security Checklist...340 6.3a Procurement Assessment...342 Page 6