Bringing Business and IT Together, Part II: Organizational Alignment

Business and IT teams cross-functional teams in a meeting

Read - Bringing Business and IT Together, Part I: An Imperative for Data-Driven Business

In the first article of this series, Bringing Business and IT Together: An Imperative for Data-Driven Business, I set forth a mandate that the business/IT divide must go away. Managing the gap isn’t enough. It must be eliminated. Realizing the potential value and the promises of data science and AI/ML depends on communication, cooperation, and organizational cohesion that can’t be achieved with tenuous and fragile working relationships.

Almost everyone is familiar with the symptoms – different languages, priorities, processes, interests, etc. – and most of us recognize the problem. Yet knowing the problem is not sufficient. Recognizing the need for change does nothing to effect change. The initial article describes why we need to change. This article continues with a discussion of what we can do to change.


Complexity arises from the need to change two kinds of organizations simultaneously and in a synchronized way.


The Business/IT problem is fundamentally one of organizational change, but it is more complex than is readily addressed by conventional organization change theory and practice. Complexity arises from the need to change two kinds of organizations simultaneously and in a synchronized way. This is both a problem of organizational change and one of organizational alignment. Similar to quality improvement, alignment is a continuous management issue. Thus, we need to approach it as an activity of Continuous Organizational Alignment (COA).

A Framework for Continuous Organizational Alignment

COA is similar to other continuous improvement processes such as continuous quality improvement (CQI) and continuous process improvement (CPI). Just as CQI and CPI demand structure and metrics, so too does COA. Continuous improvement is evolutionary and incremental. It is manageable only when understood as a set of interconnected components that can be identified and measured. The COA Framework illustrated in Figure 1 provides the necessary structure. This three-dimensional structure associates the core elements of COA – those of organizational alignment and working relationships – with the activities of continuous improvement. The framework identifies the components that can be managed, measured, and modified to improve the overall alignment of business and technology organizations.

Figure 1. The COA Framework

The Effectiveness Dimension

Organizational effectiveness describes the degree to which multiple organizations are positioned to work together effectively and achieve high-quality results with minimum conflict, confusion, miscommunication, and political interference. Three elements have a profound impact on organizational effectiveness. (See figure 2.)

Figure 2. Elements of Organizational Effectiveness

  • Processes are the procedures and activities through which interaction occurs, needs are communicated, products and services are delivered, and payment or chargeback is achieved. Important influences include the degree of formality in processes, the level at which they are documented and understood, the extent to which they are followed, results-orientation without undue bureaucracy, consistency of application, and much more.
  • Relationships involve both the state and the quality of interaction between organizations. Organizational relationships have a structural component and a cultural component. The structure expresses the form or forms of a relationship – contractual, partnership, and collaborative for example. Culture expresses the attitudes and emotions of a relationship—friendly vs. combative, trusting vs. distrustful, comfortable vs. awkward, etc.
  • Skills are the abilities to produce solutions in the problem domain. Business skills, technology skills, and interpersonal skills are all important for organizational alignment. It is increasingly important that business people have some technical skills and that technical people have some business skills. IT people must become more business skilled, and business people must become more IT skilled. These two premises work at the individual level, but to eliminate the gap we must change the way we think about organizations. The distinction between business people and IT people is a barrier to necessary change. From an organizational point of view, IT people must become business people, and business people must become technology people.

The Working Relationships Dimension           

Working relationships determine the state and quality of interaction between organizations—the relationships described above as an element of organizational effectiveness. The organizational effectiveness dimension examines these relationships collectively. The working relationship dimension explores relationships in greater depth. Working relationships exist at several levels including organization-to-organization, team-to-team, and person-to-person; and they must work effectively at all of these levels to achieve true organizational alignment. 

Organization-to-organization relations are ideally structured and business-like. Conversely, person-to-person relationships are best when unstructured and friendly. Team-to-team relationships seek a balance between the two extremes. Both extremes are needed to achieve robust working relationships. The much-desired characteristic of trust, for example, begins at a personal level before it can extend to the team and organizational levels. Partnership, however, is difficult to realize at a personal level and ideally begins with organizations. Collaboration is a preferred characteristic of team-to-team relationships and is frequently the bridge between personal and organizational behaviors.


Organization-to-organization relations are ideally structured and business-like. Conversely, person-to-person relationships are best when unstructured and friendly. Team-to-team relationships seek a balance between the two extremes.


Managing working relationships is clearly a complex and difficult process. Yet it is an essential process because relationships are at the very core of Business/IT alignment. Although challenging, managed relationships are both necessary and possible. Three elements are essential to managed working relationships. (See figure 3.)

Figure 3. Elements of Working Relationships

Governance provides the structure and controls needed to achieve value from IT resources, minimize the risk of IT initiatives, ensure the long-term viability of IT systems, ensure that IT systems support regulatory compliance, raise the level of information technology maturity, and satisfy business expectations of IT. Governance addresses ownership, responsibilities, measurement, policies, and working practices for data, technology, and information systems. The goal of governance is to align as closely as practical the interests of individuals, teams, organizations, and the enterprise.

Competency is the ability to produce and deliver results and encompasses both knowledge and ability to apply that knowledge. Effective Business/IT relationships demand competency in three domains – business, technology, and program/project management. Although frequently considered to be subjective and intangible, competency is readily affirmed and demonstrated through references which may range from internal word-of-mouth impressions and reputation to recognition as a best practice leader. Competency is essential for each of the individuals, teams, and organizations.

Communications are a cornerstone of Business/IT alignment – the connections that enable access, understanding, cooperation, and teamwork. Every aspect of the framework depends in some way and to some degree on communication. Skills, for example, are individual and problem domain-specific; Competency is collective and results-oriented. Moving from skills to competency and from problem to results depends largely upon communications.

The Continuity Dimension

Continuous alignment is the goal and the challenge – continuous because organizations, people, processes, and technology continuously change. One-time alignment simply will not do. Continuous organizational alignment consists of three major phases. (See figure 4.)

Figure 4. The Phases of COA

Identify Misalignment focuses on knowing where alignment problems exist and why they exist. Examine each of nine points identified by the COA framework to seek out specific misalignment issues as shown in the table below:

Correct Misalignment is the phase at which we effect change. The only way to improve Business/IT alignment and relationships is to change what we think, say, and do in areas of misalignment. Both organizational and personal change is important. that occur organizationally. Inconsistent messages – actions differing from communications – will damage the overall effort to improve alignment and working relationships. Organizational change involves multiple organizations and brings forth a subtle but important distinction: Do not undertake an effort to “align IT with the business” but an effort to “align business and IT” to best serve the needs of the enterprise.

Sustain Alignment is directed at impact with a goal of achieving real, substantial, and lasting value through alignment of business and technology. Sustainability depends on feedback and monitoring to ensure not only that change occurs, but that the desired changes occur. In a climate of continuously changing organizations and technologies, the feedback system is particularly important. Extending the scope of change to encompass people, processes, and politics raises the stakes. Routine check-ups are necessary to ensure long-term alignment.

Measuring and Managing Alignment

Intersecting the organizational effectiveness dimension with the working relationships dimension yields nine building blocks of alignment. (See figure 5.)

Figure 5. The Building Blocks of Organizational Alignment

A two-way connection exists at each intersection. The connections are the points at which elements of alignment can be measured, analyzed, managed, and improved. Stay tuned. I’ll discuss these building blocks in greater depth and describe the activities and techniques of measurement, analysis, and alignment in the third and final article of this series

Read - Bringing Business and IT Together, Part III: Measuring the Gap

Dave Wells

Dave Wells is an advisory consultant, educator, and industry analyst dedicated to building meaningful connections throughout the path from data to business value. He works at the intersection of information...

More About Dave Wells