How should a new CIO who has been brought in to sort out an IS department get started?
Lots of CIOs have asked Gartner analysts for advice on how to handle situations that seem to be spiraling out of control. A typical example is given below:
"Last month I was brought in as the CIO to sort out the mess in IS. The CEO gave me control of the equipment and people, as long as I got them working properly. But every time I open a new file, something nasty jumps out and bites me.
- Availability is poor
- Nobody knows who has authority to request changes — so the maintenance teams do what anyone asks them
- 70 percent of the 'development' budget goes on maintenance
- We have 10 major projects, half of which seem to be the pet projects of one of the board
- We do not have an effective project prioritisation process
- My staff are organised in rigid teams
- No one will tell me why the previous CIO left
What should I do to solve this problem? In particular, what should I do first?
Our advice
You have inherited a situation so bad that change is almost certain to be improvement. Because your status gives you licence to act decisively, your first priority should be to seize control of the situation. Then use the time you've got to prepare for the future. Since you have direct control of operational and development resources, you can use it. If some of the department's work was outsourced, it might be more difficult to enforce change -- but the objectives should be the same.
