Strategy-IT Alignment

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to develop a model that assures the alignment between business and IT (BITA) for IT projects, based on the Ampersand method. BITA is essential in gaining value from IT investments to improve technical and human performance, to produce enhanced organizational strategies that yield competitive advantage and to perform better than businesses that do not align their business strategies with their IT strategies. The literature research proposes that Ampersand together with the Business Motivation Model (BMM) can assure BITA in two ways. First, it assures strategic fit between business strategy and business infrastructure and processes. Secondly, it assures functional integration between business infrastructure and processes, and IS infrastructure and processes. The BMM identifies ends (vision, goals, and objectives) and means to achieve the ends (missions, strategies, tactics, and business rules) of an organization. These concepts are relevant to an IT project, especially during the requirements engineering (RE) phase. For an organization to be effective and efficient, the ends and means have to be related to each other in some way. The proposed model records the relations between the ends and means and additionally checks the integrity of these relations using multiplicity constraints and business rules by using the Ampersand method.