We were engaged to help articulate IBA’s IT Strategy for 2019 – 2023 and how it supports the vision of the organisation. We assisted in defining the direction of the IT Strategy and the major changes to the infrastructure and cloud architecture for IBA. We translated the IT Strategy into a clear Implementation Plan and high-level Roadmap to ensure a Project Manager could effectively begin to action the Strategy recommendations.

IBA serves the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by investing in people, places and ideas. To facilitate these services, IBA manages an ICT platform around several core capabilities including the provision of a core commercial platform, documentation and records management, customer relationship management and business intelligence platforms. With a diverse set of geographic locations across Australia and approximately 200 staff, IBA has a need to invest in a number of areas.

A review of the progress of IBA’s strategy had found that the implementation of the core business banking application and the associated architectural components were progressing, however, the infrastructure and cloud initiatives were not progressing as rapidly.

The primary challenge MXA was brought on to address was in articulating the focus areas of the IT Strategy and providing an Implementation Plan for skilled IBA staff to action.

To ensure the use of existing research and knowledge, we undertook a review of IBA’s existing documentation including previous strategies, planning documents, external reviews and architectural design documents.

With a deeper appreciation of the complexities of the organisation and its ICT environment, we conducted two full day workshops with key IBA ICT stakeholders. The first workshop focused on:

• Collaboratively defining the vision for IBA’s ICT.
• Evaluating the current and future maturity levels of various areas of ICT and business.
• Structuring the IT Strategy in away that would resonate with IBA staff.
• Defining focus areas and principles for the Strategy.

The second workshop built upon the work conducted in the first workshop and assisted in:

• Reviewing and refining the IT Strategy.
• Establishing a governance framework for the Strategy.
• Identifying key activities for implementing the ICT Reform.
• Creating a Roadmap for the Program.

We provided a number of deliverables which will provide IBA with a clear sense of direction and vision for their ICT:

• IT Strategy poster – We engaged with Dreamtime Creative to create a visually appealing poster for IBA which would stand out and clearly articulate the IT Strategy.
• IT Strategy 2019 – 2023 document – We designed a Strategy document for IBA which will provide direction and guidance for future decision making and investments. The Strategy included three streams of People, ICT Service Management, and Technology Enhancements which encompassed the opportunities and focus areas of the Strategy. It also provided a clear picture of the organisation’s current state, the drivers for change and the vision for the future.
• Implementation Plan – The Implementation Plan sets out the high-level activities required for the Strategy from 2019 – 2023. This allows IBA to have a clear overview of the scheduling, decisions and milestones.