Issue link: https://resources.esri.ca/i/1313392
51 | GEOSPATIAL STRATEGY ESSENTIALS FOR MANAGERS MATTHEW LEWIN The CIO had seen this before with other enterprise systems. The city had recently completed a major ERP initiative and a key factor in the success of that initiative was the implementation of rigorous governance. With so many processes and so much data impacted by the introduction of an ERP platform, a broad and coordinated governance model was required. The CIO knew from this experience that effective governance was about setting priorities and establishing a model that encouraged continuous oversight over these priority areas. This would focus the city on what was important and prevent them from falling back into old habits. She also recognized that GIS does not exist in isolation. And it was imperative that the geospatial governance model aligned with and supported governance processes established across IT and corporate data management. She chose a design approach that would accommodate these needs. The initial efforts would focus on identifying the governance priorities, i.e., the business and technology issues of interest and the associated governance concerns. The remaining effort would focus on designing the governance solution, i.e., the structure and processes that form the governance operating model. The illustration below outlines the approach. This governance model design methodology has decision makers establish governance priorities first, then shift to designing the governance solution. Identifying the Priorities The first step was to identify the city's priority governance concerns. The CIO and her team turned to the geospatial governance framework for help. The governance framework identifies 20+ processes (see the illustration below). Each process represents an aspect of a geospatial program where strategic decisions are required and performance monitoring is needed. The task for the city was to map their main business and technology drivers to the corresponding governance processes. These would form their governance priorities. Business Drivers Governance Concerns Decision Structure Decision Rights Controls Measures Activities Governance Priorities The business drivers determine the priority governance concerns. The governance concerns represent the key governance decision areas. Governance Solution The decision structure determines the organization of individuals and groups responsibile for governance decisions. The measures, controls, decision rights and activities define the core component of each governance process Derived from: Operational IT Governance, Cantor and Sanders, IBM DeveloperWorks 2007.