Balancing Planning, Control, and Improvisation for Resilience

Balancing Planning, Control, and Improvisation for Resilience

This IDC Perspective is intended to help CIOs navigate the change from traditional planningcontrolexecution models to a more flexible "adaptive" approach that blends planning, control, and improvisation. It explains how CIOs can employ improvisation to deal with unpredictable events, what's driving the need for improvisation, and how CIOs can ensure success in its use. For years, CIOs have tried to mitigate uncertainty by performing extensive planning and research before embarking on initiatives and then employing various control measures to keep execution on track. When dealing with unpredictable and novel events and disruptions, however, CIOs need a new playbook based on improvisation. "Improvisation isn't a word normally associated with IT or CIOs, but the growing unpredictability of disruptions means that they will likely find themselves in situations where it is unavoidable," says Marc Strohlein, adjunct research advisor with IDC's IT Executive Programs (IEP). "Yet as improvisation becomes a necessary part of CIOs' repertoire, they need to create the foundation to ensure success, not only for themselves but for their organizations and ecosystem partners."

Please Note: Extended description available upon request.