The Strategic Information Audit:

A Powerful Tool to Prevent Chaos

Louis-René Dessureault, BA, MBSIVice-president, Consulting Services

Session plan:

• Information Audit: a definition• Why and when should you do an IA• IA Methodology• Aligning your information systems with corporate

goals

CEDROM-SNi strongly believes that in order to supportsupport our clients and help them to evolveevolve at the speed of the information, knowledge and communication age, we needed to push the concept of customer support by creating a group totally dedicated to service.

The main focus and mission of this group is to provide our current and new customers with advices aimed at optimizing optimizing their investmenttheir investment in Eureka, Newscan or Euro-Presse.

This new group of consultants is staffed with information management professionals, business analysts and other specialists who are used to gathering clients’ strategic gathering clients’ strategic information needsinformation needs and transforming them into efficient efficient business processes and system architecturesbusiness processes and system architectures.

Consulting Services – What is it

Working independently from the sales department, our main tasks will be:

•To adviseadvise customers on how to take full advantagefull advantage of any information platform by optimizingoptimizing all processes regarding the collection, the organization, the usage and the dissemination of strategic business information to targeted users – knowledge workers, management, etc.

•By supportingsupporting our customers on all aspects of our product and services implementation: needs assessmentneeds assessment, account architecture support, training, technical support, help desk, library services, etc.

Consulting Services – What is it

A focused approach, in a short time-frame

At the very beginningbeginning of a new relationship in order to:• Get an unbiased portrait of the actual situation• Assess correctly the real information needs• Evaluate current information gathering and sharing

processes• Make sure these are aligned with the best practices• Propose the optimal account architecture and technology • Support implementation and training• Propose other services that the client may need

Consulting Services – Why and When

A focused approach, in a short time-frame

During a Newscan contractDuring a Newscan contract in order to :• Monitor client usage and make usage match expectations

by proposing specific intervention that will achieve the goal

• Answer clients’ questions and help him / her to develop better usage by providing IM, KM, CI advice.

• Offer ad-hoc training• Revise the needs assessment, account architecture,

politics, processes, search strategies, etc.• Make sure these are aligned with the best practices in

their industry

Consulting Services – Why and When

Needs Assessment – Information Audit

Information and Knowledge Management Consulting Services

Strategic Information Plan and System design

Market Intelligence & Monitoring Consulting Services

IT Solution & Support

Librarianship & Training Services

Consulting Services – What we do

Information Audit - Definition

Several definitions co-exist together Everybody seems to agree that an Information Audit is a process :

• That tends to:• Identify an organization’s information needs and resources.• Identify information flow and networks; internal, external,

formal & informal.• In order to:

• Create a realistic portrait of the current situation.• Optimize communication level and information assets.• Market the information / communication services and

enhance the profile of information / communication professionals within the organization.

Strategic Information Audit Definition

A Strategic Information Audit (SIA) is a process that :•Will identify :

• Executives’ strategic information needs,• Strategic information resources, flow and networks;

internal, external, formal & informal.•In order to:

• Create a realistic portrait of the current situation,• Develop a GAP analysis,• Design or optimize a BI/CI program aligned with the

organization’s strategic needs,• Optimize all information and intelligence assets

Close to the previous one but focused on a target !

Why and When

Two ways that an SIA can begin:

Executives are fed-up with the lack of intelligence and fail to make good decisions• Things are not going well – You are in trouble !• Could bring significant changes in the BI/CI unit !

Proactive BI/CI professionals introduce an SIA program to make sure they are keeping their executives “HOT”

• Thing are going well !• Everybody wants to keep on top of changes

Do your own internal monitoring !

Why and When

A needs analysis is often a one shot deal

Needs Analysis

Portrait & Assessment

Recommendations

Implementation

SIA Continuous Cycle

Strategic Needs Identification

Structural Review

ProcessesReview

Gap Analysis

Report and Recommendations

Current Situation Ideal Situation Optimization

Implementation

Ongoing Feedback Process

STEP 1: Structural Review

Goal & ObjectivesTo gain in-depth knowledge of the global organizational structures and culture specifically focused on information management and business intelligence.

Activities may include. Review of all available documentation (original plans, org. charts,

programs, etc.) Interviews with all currents professionals involved in Info management

& research, BI/CI in order to identify their roles and responsibilities Review of the IT infrastructure and systems dedicated to the

intelligence process and KM Business intelligence and research services organizational structure

mapping and analysis Information flows and decisions poles mapping and analysis

SIA Methodology

STEP 2: IM Process Review

Goal & ObjectivesTo acquire a clear and in-depth knowledge of all tools and methodologies used in strategic information management in the organization, including past and currents practices and experiences. All activities and players related to data collection, analysis, evaluation communication and feedback have to be identified and documented.

Activities Interviews and questionnaires planning Data collection through interviews and questionnaires Focus groups to evaluate IM current process, products and

performance Staff capabilities and internal process evaluation Team interviews debriefing and analysis

SIA Methodology

STEP 3: Strategic Needs Identification

Goal & ObjectivesTo acquire a crystal-clear understanding of the strategic concerns of the decision makers of the organization in order to assess the effective contribution of the IM program to corporate results. Through very targeted interviews with decisions makers, this exercise will demonstrate the current level of satisfaction for IM products, contribute to identification of real strategic information needs, favourite distribution channels, current usage of existing systems and their effectiveness.

Activities Interview planning – building your own knowledge about the decision

makers Ten to twenty interviews with top executives Interview debriefing and data analysis

SIA Methodology

STEP 4: Gap Analysis

Goal & ObjectivesOnce steps 1 to 3 are well accomplished, it is now the perfect time to sit down and evaluate the gap between the what is and the what is expected. What is true one day can turn out to be false on another day in the business world. Evaluating current gaps between what is currently done and what keeps your CEO awake in the night will pave the way for the next step. Benchmarking your processes with best practices will also bring some good ideas and great benefits.

Activities: Some of the issues to be addressed Is the original plan still meeting the expressed needs ? Is the original plan well served by the current systems ? Are the current systems still meeting the expressed needs ? Is the original plan meeting the best practices in the field ? Is the current program of the organization comparable with competitors ?

SIA Methodology

The final report should be the cornerstone of the strategic plan

to implement the recommendations for optimization

STEP 5: Report and recommendations

Goal & ObjectiveThe main objective of this step is to produce and present a report which provides to the client a clear vision of the current state of its IM programs, the strategic information needs findings and recommendations for optimization in order to meet the decision making process requirements.

Deliverables An executive summary of the key findings and recommendations A detailed written report that will discuss:

The current state of the programs and information flows. The best practices in the field and in industry. The strategic information needs assessment. The recommendations in order to optimize the programs and the strategic

information assets.

SIA Methodology

STEP 6: Implementing recommendations

Goal & ObjectiveThe main objective of this step is to plan and implement the recommendations in the most efficient way suitable for the organization. Working closely with the BI manager and a change management expert, the strategic plan will be completed, presented and implemented in order to optimize the current situation.

ActivitiesPlanning sessions in order to understand the change process and the changes to be

made.Development of the implementation plan :

• Clarify objectives • Set global and specific parameters – what has to be changed and optimized

and how• Evaluate the impact• Develop communication plan

ImplementationPost implementation review strategyContinuous improvement through a formalized audit program

SIA Methodology

Globalization

Regulation

Interpretation Protection Anticipation Action Innovation Strategy

Environment Intelligence Real Vision

Alliances

Competition

Political Risks

Technology

Aligning Your Monitoring on Corporate Goals

Strategic Information Audit

QUESTIONS & DISCUSSION

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