IT Manager's Handbook: Getting Your New Job Done (2 page)
Read IT Manager's Handbook: Getting Your New Job Done Online
Authors: Bill Holtsnider,Brian D. Jaffe
Tags: #Business & Economics, #Information Management, #Computers, #Information Technology, #Enterprise Applications, #General, #Databases, #Networking
Note on URLs and Web Resources
State-of-the-art information is critical to IT Managers and IT professionals of all kinds. Many of the sources for this book are websites. And, as every web user understands, web content changes quickly. We have included web addresses whenever we can, knowing full well that websites change, material gets deleted or added, and links that worked when we wrote the book may not necessarily work when you read it. Regardless, we thought it best to give you a reference where we found worthwhile information. You can use that information as a starting point for your search for information.
Acknowledgments
Trying to condense the topic of IT management into one book isn’t an easy task. It required a delicate touch to balance technical and nontechnical issues properly, as well as to determine which topics to focus on in each area. A large portion of the ideas presented here represent what we’ve learned from others. Accordingly, we must give credit to those who taught us (often unknowingly) throughout the course of our careers in corporate IT—colleagues, co-workers, those we have reported to, and those who have reported to us. We are indebted to, and grateful for, these accidental mentors.
Portions of this material appeared in previous editions of the
IT Manager’s Handbook
. We would like to thank the following individuals who helped review those proposals and manuscripts and gave guidance: Frank Calabrese, Bruce Caldwell, James Chilton, Tom Conarty, Dan Deakin, Jonathan Ganz, Stan Gibson, Karen Godshalk, Rob Hawkins, Karen Hitchcock, Curtis Johnsey, Mark Jones, Brian McMann, Robert Rubin, James Snyder, Norma Sutcliffe, Matt Tavis, Philip Tolley, Curt Wennekamp, Nick Wilde, Janet Wilson.
We would also like to thank the people at Morgan Kaufmann: Rachel Roumeliotis, Andrea Dierna, Robyn Day, and Jessica Vaughan. They took the concept for this book and ran with it, and we are greatly indebted to their efforts. Diane Cerra, Greg Chalson, Karyn Johnson, Jennifer Mann, Heather Scherer, Asma Stephan, and Heather Tighe were involved with the earlier editions of the series.
Most importantly, we are tremendously indebted to our family and friends for their support and understanding while this book was being written. It’s motivating to know that as the final edits are being made and this self-imposed exile ends, they are anxious and eager to forget about those declined invitations, missed dinners, and non-existent weekends. In particular:
Bill would like to thank The Five; as always, they know everything I do is for them.
Brian would like to thank Jenine—his girlfriend during the writing of the second edition, his fiancé during the writing of the business edition, and his wife for the third edition—whom he loves and depends on, and with whom he looks forward to the future, for her patience, love, and encouragement.
Bill Holtsnider
Denver, CO
Brian D. Jaffe
New York, NY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Cover Image
Title
Copyright
Dedication
About the Authors
Key Changes for This Edition
Preface
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1. The Role of an IT Manager
1.1 Just What Does an IT Manager Do?
1.2 Managers in General
1.3 The Strategic Value of the IT Department
1.4 Developing an IT Strategy
1.5 Leadership versus Management
1.6 Starting Your New Job
1.7 The First 100 Days
1.8 Two IT Departments—What Happens If Your Company Merges with Another?
1.9 Further References
Chapter 2. Managing Your IT Team
2.1 Keeping Employees Focused
2.2 Employee Training
2.3 Employee Performance
2.4 Generational Issues at Work
2.5 Further References
Chapter 3. Staffing Your IT Team
3.1 Why IT Managers Need to Deal with Hiring People
3.2 Write a Position Description
3.3 Recruiters
3.4 Selecting Candidates
3.5 Further References
Chapter 4. Project Management
4.1 Projects and Project Management: A Quick Overview
4.2 Phase One: Scope the Project
4.3 Phase Two: Develop a Project Plan
4.4 Phase Three: Launch the Project
4.5 Phase Four: Track the Project’s Progress
4.6 Phase Five: Close Out the Project
4.7 Decision-Making Techniques
4.8 What to Do If/When the Project Gets Off Track
4.9 Useful Project Management Techniques
4.10 Funding Projects
4.11 Multiple Projects: How to Juggle Them Well
4.12 Dealing with Non-IT Departments on a Project
4.13 Further References
Chapter 5. Software, Operating Systems, and Enterprise Applications
5.1 Types of Software
5.2 Operating Systems
5.3 Open Source
5.4 Managing Software
5.5 Cloud Computing
5.6 Enterprise Applications
5.7 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
5.8 Further References
Chapter 6. Managing the Money
6.1 The Budgeting Process
6.2 The Difference between Capital Expenditures and Operating Expense Items
6.3 Lease Versus Buy: Which One is Better?
6.4 Other Budgeting Factors to Consider
6.5 Managing Vendors
6.6 Managing the Money during Difficult Times
6.7 Outsourcing and Offshoring
6.8 Further References
Chapter 7. Getting Started with the Technical Environment
7.1 The Technical Environment
7.2 Understanding the User Environment
7.3 TCO and Asset Management: What Are They?
7.4 Standards
7.5 Technology Refreshing
7.6 Further References
Chapter 8. Security and Compliance
8.1 How We Got Here
8.2 Managing Security
8.3 Security Solutions and Technologies
8.4 Types of Threats
8.5 Compliance and IT
8.6 The Rules
8.7 How to Comply with the Rules
8.8 Hidden Benefits of Compliance
8.9 Methodologies and Frameworks
8.10 It's Not Just Regulatory Compliance
8.11 Further References
Chapter 9. Disaster Recovery
9.1 Defining the Scope
9.2 Creating a Disaster Recovery Plan
9.3 A Word about Incident Response, Business Continuity, and Disaster Recovery
9.4 The Hidden Benefits of Good Disaster Recovery Planning
9.5 Further References
Chapter 10. Working with Users
10.1 Relationships with Users
10.2 The Consumerization of IT
10.3 When Your Users Are Part of a Mobile Work Force
10.4 The Help Desk
10.5 Service Level Agreements
10.6 Further References
Chapter 11. Connectivity
11.1 Get in Front of the Curve
11.2 The Power of All These Connections
11.3 How Does This Affect You as IT Manager?
11.4 Further References
Glossary
Index
Chapter 1
The Role of an IT Manager
The manager is the dynamic, life-giving element in every business.
Peter Drucker
Chapter table of contents
1.1
Just What Does an IT Manager Do?
1.2
Managers in General
1.3
The Strategic Value of the IT Department
1.4
Developing an IT Strategy
1.5
Leadership versus Management
1.6
Starting Your New Job
1.7
The First 100 Days
1.8
Two IT Departments—What Happens if Your Company Merges with Another?
1.9
Further References
Common issues and questions about IT Managers include:
•
What does an IT Manager actually
do
?
•
Did you recently receive a promotion into that job with no prior training?
•
Are you glad you got the job?
•
Do you eventually want to become one?
Before we help you answer those questions, we discuss the definition and the pros and cons of being a manager. Clearly management as a career path is well suited for some people, but not for everyone. Is it right for you?
IT Managers need to wear a lot of hats. Different parts of the organization will have different expectations of this position, and you’ll have to address them all. Finance expects you to manage costs. Sales and Marketing will want to see IT help generate revenue. The auditors are looking over your shoulder. Your staff is looking for guidance, career development, and a work-life balance. The executive traveling to Dubai wants to know if his cell phone will work there, and how to use the hotel’s Wi-Fi. And the administrative assistant down the hall just wants her printer to stop smudging. This chapter examines the varied roles and responsibilities of an IT Manager.