Tools to align goals and information systems

When the links between IS buying decisions and corporate goals are explicitly defined, IS managers can see the consequences of their decisions in advance and can justify their expenditures. Unfortunately, if an organization practices strategic planning at all, a gap often exists between its strategic statements and the corresponding information systems. Several things create this gap. To begin with, users often provide incomplete, incorrect or inconsistent information to the analysts responsible for turning needs and wants into computerized reality. However, even with the best information, the task of translating strategic statements does not easily lend itself to IS solutions. IS planning tools can help bridge the gap by aligning a company´s strategic statements with its information systems. However, the company must first define its goals as inputs to the planning tools. Models, reports and other outputs from the planning tools can then guide further development that is consistent with the company´s overall mission