When urgent IT projects clash with long-term strategy, it's crucial to find a balance that secures your company's future.
When urgent IT projects clash with long-term strategy, it's crucial to find a balance that secures your company's future.
Urgent IT projects can derail long-term goals if not managed wisely. To steer through this critical juncture:
- Assess the urgency and impact. Determine if immediate action is truly necessary or if it can be scheduled without compromising strategic objectives.
- Communicate with stakeholders. Keep everyone informed to align on priorities and manage expectations effectively.
- Revisit and adjust the strategy. Be flexible and willing to update your roadmap to incorporate new insights or changes in the business environment.
How do you balance immediate IT needs with long-term planning? Share your strategies.
I used to help define IT strategy in a previous role and my view is "Long Term Strategy" is becoming obsolete. You can have long term objectives, and have a vision, but a strategic roadmap is no longer viable given the VUCA world we live in. Strategic roadmap for 1 year works well (80% of the time) ... Strategic roadmap for 3 or 5 years often is so mis-aligned by the time it is 3 years. Here is my view on alignment: 1. Have a long-term vision and purpose but define strategy in detail for 1-2 years only 2. Bake in 'Urgent' projects - you will never be in a position to predict all urgent projects but can keep strategic buffer 3. Pivot, replan, assess risk as the Urgent priority project arrives 4. Repeat this loop again next year (1-3 above)
Urgent IT projects can feel like fire drills, but they don’t have to derail long-term goals. The key is assessing the true urgency and impact. Not every task needs immediate action, and rescheduling non-critical items helps keep teams focused on strategic objectives. Clear communication is vital—keeping stakeholders informed ensures alignment and manages expectations, maintaining trust even during urgent demands. Finally, staying flexible with your strategy is essential. IT projects often face changing priorities, so regularly revisiting the roadmap ensures your long-term goals stay relevant and adaptable to new insights.
Addressing a critical moment where urgent IT projects put long-term strategy at risk requires a balanced approach between emergency management and safeguarding strategic objectives. Check whether all "urgent" projects are truly critical. Often some perceived emergencies are actually less relevant. Separate real priorities from those that can be postponed. Understand how urgent projects influence long-term strategy. Establish which of these most compromises the achievement of strategic objectives and decide what to concentrate resources on. Managing time-sensitive IT projects without jeopardizing long-term strategy requires a mix of vision, leadership and operational agility.
En mi experiencia como coordinador de proyectos de desarrollo de software, he estado en esta situación en varias oportunidades, esto suele ocurrir cuando las organizaciones no tienen o cambian con frecuencia sus objetivos estratégicos. Lo que mejor resultado me ha dado es utilizar la metodología SCRUM y con la ayuda de todas las partes interesadas ir agregando objetivos tácticos y estratégicos. Esto me permite atacar las necesidades urgentes para mantener la continuidad operativa de la organización, mientras voy cumpliendo tareas que me ayudan a conseguir los otros objetivos a más largo plazo. ????
Em minha experiência como gestor de TI, a concorrência de recursos humanos e tecnológicos faz parte da grande maioria das empresas. Ter uma comunica??o clara e direta com os stackholders é fundamental, além de dar visibilidade, n?o só das entregas como também da capacidade de execu??o do time. Uma estratégia que utilizo e dá resultado é separar um pool de horas para as demandas que chamo de “FAST” que se caracterizam por serem rápidas para desenvolver e com alto retorno para o negócio.