Many leaders and executives are wondering what preparations their firms should have in order to be ready to transform into digital era? Organisational e-readiness is a complimentary part of global, regional and national readiness to digital era. This book argues the importance of e-readiness assessment in a structured and quantitative way that contain relevant and valid criteria to assess readiness within organization from various and balanced perspectives. The proposed organizational e-readiness model consists of five interrelated categories; these are strategy, business process, technology, changeability, and ICT security.

1. By: Aqel M. Aqel
aqel.aqel@gmail.com
Mobile: 0502104007

2. ‫خلق‬‫الذي‬‫ربك‬ ‫باسم‬ ‫أقرأ‬‫علق‬ ‫من‬ ‫اإلنسان‬‫خلق‬
‫لم‬‫بالق‬ ‫علم‬ ‫الذي‬ ‫األكرم‬‫وربك‬ ‫اقرأ‬
‫يعلم‬ ‫لم‬ ‫ما‬ ‫اإلنسان‬‫علم‬
‫العظيم‬‫هللا‬ ‫صدق‬
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5
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3.  Measuring Business Process Maturity while
assessing organizational readiness for
e-transformation.
 Illustrates a proposed comprehensive model
for assessing organizational readiness
including business process criteria in addition
to other organizational e-readiness billers
(strategy, info technology, IT Security and
ability to change).

4.  Introduction:
◦ E-Transformation Concept (Technology Enabled Government / T-
Government)
◦ Importance Of E-Transformation
◦ Need For Readiness Model
 Organizational Readiness Model:
◦ Model Components (Includes Business Process Readiness)
◦ Business Process Readiness Criteria (Illustration And How To
Measure)
◦ Inter-Agencies Processes
◦ National Level Business Process Management Bureau (NBPMB)
 Closure
◦ Quick summary for our lecture
◦ Conclusion (adopting national readiness model, and national level
NBPMB)

5. ◦ E-Transformation Concept:
 Technology Enabled Government / T-Government
 Importance Of E-Transformation
 Need For Readiness Model

7. • Total Dependency on IT
• IT Impacts on Societies:
– Politically
– Economically
– Socially
– Service delivery
• Managerial revolution is running
parallel with IT revolution.
• Information / Knowledge societies
E-Transformation: Opportunities and Barriers

8. E-Transformation: Opportunities and Barriers
 What is e-Transformation:
◦ The process of transforming in to an
innovative & effective IT-enabled organization
is e-Transformation.
 Transformation levels:
◦ Government Agencies
◦ Private Sector
◦ Academic institutions
◦ Persons and societies

9. • Barriers
– Infrastructural
– Financial
– Organizational
– Legislative
– Security
– Others
E-Transformation: Opportunities and barriers

11. Using e-Readiness to facilitate organizational transformation
Source: Aqel M. Aqal.
e-Readiness
Criteria Method
s
Audits
Initiatives Monitoring
Existing
Situation
Barriers
Limitations
Desired Situation
Opportunities
Initiatives (projects)
TrainingInfrastructure
e-Services Change Management
Uncertainties
E-Readiness Concept

12. Human
Development
Provide Service
Provide InformationUse
Information
Technology
Generic
Capacity
• e-Readiness is the generic capacity or
aptitude of the public sector to use ICT for
encapsulating public services and deploying
to the public high quality information
(explicit knowledge) and effective
communication tools that support human
development «
[WPSR,2003, page 135].
E-Readiness Concept

13. E-Readiness Concept
• Human Development
– E- Government initiatives classification (UN,
2003)
• Wasteful
• Pointless
• Meaningful

14.  Specific Criteria (maturity ladder)
 Assessment Methods
 Conduct Audits
 Suggested projects/Initiatives
 Monitoring and follow up

16. Industry
Readiness
Organizational
Readiness
Community &
Personal
Readiness
Industry
Readiness
Organizational
Readiness
Community &
Personal
Readiness
e-Readiness levels
Source: Aqel
E-Readiness Levels
1. Global
2. Regional
3. National
4. Industries
/Business Sectors
5. Organizational
6. Community
7. Person / individual
E-Readiness
Concept

17. Figure 4.2: National e-Government Readiness
Source: Author
 National e-
Readiness
◦ Telecom
◦ Banking Sector
◦ Academic
◦ Business Sectors
◦ Legal
◦ Individuals and
Society
National e-Readiness billers

18. Organizational E-Readiness
• Answering the Question:
– What preparations management should provide in order
to facilitate transforming to digital era.
• Org. Readiness depends:
– National e-gov model.
– Organization Role in national e-trans.
– Nature of relations with others.
– General maturity technically and managerially.

19. Importance of e-readiness model
• Using an e-readiness model:
– Will Help formulating strategic plans
based on identified parameters.
– Justify projects and its dependencies
– Upgrading to higher levels of maturity
– Unify criteria to assess and compare
readiness

20. • E-readiness criteria depends on ideal
organization characterized in “learning
organization”.
Importance of e-readiness model
• "learning organizations
continuously learns through its
members individually and
collectively to create a sustainable
competitive advantage by effectively
managing internally and externally
generated change"
[Sudharatna & Li, 2007].

21. E-Readiness Concept
Layers of readiness
• Learning org. characteristics:
1. Cultural values
2. Leadership
3. Commitment and empowerment
4. Communication, knowledge transfer
5. Employee characteristics and
performance upgrading

22. Organizational e-Readiness Model

23. Organizational E-Readiness Model
Strategy Readiness
Business Process
IT Infrastructure
Culture readiness
(Ability to Change)
IT Security

24. Organizational e-Readiness
1- Strategy

25. Organizational e-Readiness
1. Strategy
• “Strategic management and
transformational leadership style are two
key factors that contribute to the success of
e-government initiatives”
[Wenbo, 2002]

26. • Public agencies with considerable goal
ambiguity tend to have a difficult time
strategizing and implementing
management innovations.
Wechsler et. al. 1997
Organizational e-Readiness
1. Strategy

27.  Strategy Readiness
◦ Ability for strategic planning
◦ Ability to strategic management
1. Organizational structure
2. Functions and services
3. Performance management
4. Informational Model
Organizational e-Readiness
1. Strategy

28.  1.1 Organizational
Structure
◦ "Organizational
structure is the way
in which the
interrelated groups
of an organization
are constructed.
The main concerns
are effective
communication and
coordination"
[wikipedia, 2007]
Organizational structure is documented
Communicated and recognized
Covers all activities including ICT
Identify relationships and authorities
Used effectively in HR
Managed OR mechanism
Organizational e-Readiness
1. Strategy

29.  1.2 Functions and services
◦ What products and services we deliver in order to
achieve our strategy.
 What Departments are doing
 What products and Services they are providing to:
 Individuals
 Small Businesses
 Corporates
 Other key stakeholders
Organizational e-Readiness
1. Strategy

30.  1.2 Functions and services
◦ Evaluate functions and services
 Are services satisfying and supporting business
strategy
 Clear responsibilities
 Level of Automation
 Integration with HR incentive System
Organizational e-Readiness
1. Strategy

31.  1.3 Performance management
◦ Performance management is "a systematic, integrated
management approach that links enterprise strategy to core
processes and activities. By providing planning, budgeting,
analysis and reporting capabilities, performance management
allows the business to be "run by the numbers" and
measurement to drive management decisions." [wikipedia, 2007]
◦ Strategic planning can help in managing change through:
linking agency strategies with performance measures".
[Berry, 2007]
◦ Monitoring progress made toward achieving
program goals requires systematic
measurement. ICT has facilitated the
processing of unprecedented amounts of
program data more efficiently than ever
before" [Newcomer, 2007].

32.  1.4 Informational Model
◦ "A high-level roadmap containing software,
hardware, and other information technology
requirements for health & secured environment
managed information systems" [HSE-MIS, 2001].
◦ It’s Part of organization
strategy as all stakeholders
need to exchange information.
◦ Planning for information
provision should be parallel
with business strategy.

33. Organizational e-Readiness
2-Business Process

34. Organizational e-Readiness
2-Business Process
◦ “Collection of activities that takes one or
more kinds of input and creates an output
that is of value"
[Credit research foundation, 2007],
◦ “a recipe for achieving a commercial
result. Each business process has
inputs, method and outputs. The
inputs are a pre-requisite that must be
in place before the method can be put
into practice. When the method is
applied to the inputs then certain
outputs will be created“
◦ [wikipedia, 2007].

35. • Evaluation criteria
1. Documentation
2. Effectiveness
3. Performance
Management
4. Automation
Organizational e-Readiness
2- Business Process

36. Organizational e-Readiness
2- Business Process
• 2.1 Documentation
– Base for other criteria
– Without documentation there will be no
consensus on what agency staff have to do
and how.
– Roles and responsibilities can not be build
on undocumented processes.
– Sanctions & decrees are not detailed BP
documents
– Organizations should realize and document
its business processes in modern and
structured way.

37. Organizational e-Readiness
2- Business Process
• 2.1 Documentation
1. Availability of a business process committee
2. Availability of updated documentation for
all strategic processes
3. Accessibility to documentation for staff
4. Availability of Electronic workflow systems
5. Integration of BPD to human resources roles
and responsibilities.
6. Integration of BPD to automated systems.

38. Organizational e-Readiness
2-Business Process
2.2 Effectiveness
1. Drivers, initiators, triggers and inputs.
2. Roles and responsibilities in various
stages
3. Exceptions and predefined handlings
4. Process controls and related objectives
5. Process outputs in various stages
6. monitor adherence
7. level of support

39. Organizational e-Readiness
2-Business Process
2.3 Performance Management
– Aims at business process optimization and stakeholders'
satisfaction.
– will help agency monitor process effectiveness and find reasons
and ways for enhancement.
– BPP could be measured at
process steps (tasks) level or
at participant's level in order
to quantify process performance
analysis.
– Organizations that have
performance management in place
are more ready to transform to
learning org.
– BPP outcomes are valuable inputs to strategy performance

40. Organizational e-Readiness
2-Business Process
• 2.4 Automation
– Automation is about obtaining, storing,
sharing and exchanging information
pertaining to business process.
– Two key criteria to be assessed
• Number of automated steps
• Ability to provide and exchange
data electronically.

41. Organizational e-Readiness
3-IT infrastructure and Management

42. 1. Infrastructure
2. DBMS
3. Applications
4. ICT Management
5. Technical skills
ICT
Management
DBMS
Infrastructures
Applications Skills

43.  3.1 Infrastructure
◦ Aims at 24x7 Availability
1. Hardware
2. Communication Network
 Intranet ، Internet ، Extranet
 Capacity Management
3. ICT Facility
 Power
 ACs

44.  3.2 DBMS
◦ Includes owning accumulated cleansed current and
historical data in normalized databases that covers
business information:
◦ Include ability to share and transfer data to web
content as firm need to have electronic information
to share and exchange with stakeholders.

45.  3.3 Applications
◦ We mean Business applications (ready and tailor made)
◦ Applications replaced ordinary paper based
business processes
◦ Applications contains business process and controls

46.  3.4 Applications assessment criteria
◦ Application functional maturity
◦ Application maintainability
◦ Application Integration ability
◦ Application security

47.  3.4 Applications assessment criteria
◦ Application functional maturity
◦ level of automation or electronic processing
coverage of application to the specific service or
function that will be transformed into new means of
digitally based service.
 Automated steps and exception handling
 Accuracy of processing
 ability to segregate online services from manual ones
 Report the status of online processed requests

48.  3.4 Applications assessment criteria
◦ Application maintainability
 Application documentation.
 Availability of Experienced resources.
 License agreement that allow modification.
 Effective application development and change
management life cycle.

49.  3.4 Applications assessment criteria
◦ Application Integration ability
effectively integrate systems in real time to exchange
information in both directions to support
transformation

50.  3.4 Applications assessment criteria
◦ Application security
Assessment includes benchmarking agency against
known application security best practices

51.  3.5 ICT Management
◦ E-transformation requires a matured ICT
management due to the expanding role of ICT.
 Effectiveness
 Efficiency
 Confidentiality
 Integrity
 Availability
 Reliability
 Compliancy

52.  3.5 ICT Management effectiveness:
1. Structure(Internal and external):
2. ICT processes effectiveness.

53.  3.5 ICT Management effectiveness:
3. Technical skills
 many and vary according to the following
factors:
 Level of maturity of agency's ICT function.
 Agency's e-government strategic plan.
 The role of outsourcing versus in-house team
members.
 Available approaches for agency to gain new
skills and capabilities.

54.  ICT functions should develop capabilities in
the following key skills:
◦ Capable operations staff for systems and networks
◦ Capable database administration.
◦ Programming and software development
methodologies
◦ Business analysis and processes reengineering
◦ Software engineering and integration
◦ Security specialist
◦ ICT Quality specialist
◦ Project management skills

56.  So Far…
◦ strategy readiness to ensure being on the right
direction
◦ Business process readiness to ensure doing the
right things to achieve goals.
◦ Technology readiness to enable the business.
 Change is always a real challenge:
◦ Bureaucracy.
◦ Are stakeholders going to accept radical change.
◦ Do they have the same concerns and interests.
◦ They do have varies impacts and influences.

57.  Ability to change readiness criteria:
◦ Leadership
◦ Human resource alignment
◦ Effective communication
◦ Risk Management

58.  4.1 leadership
◦ Leadership was classified as a barrier to e-trans
◦ Transformational leadership elements are included
1. Awareness of e-trans concepts and benefits.
2. Embracement of e-trans
 Embracement usually follow
awareness but not necessarily
a result of it
3. Leadership skills

59.  4.2 Human resources alignment
◦ Considered an extension to strategy readiness
 Reduce resistance
 Protect e-Transformation investment

60.  4.2 HR alignment criteria includes the
following:
1. Dissemination of strategic objectives
2. Job descriptions and Responsibilities
3. Policies to attract and retain skilled workers
4. HR Motivation
5. HR Performance Management
6. HR continuous development

61.  4.2 Human resources alignment
◦ Realization of strategic objectives
 Strategy should be understood by workers at all levels
 Workers should know how they contribute to achieve
the strategy
 Workers should not be left in vague

62.  4.2 Human resources alignment
◦ Job description (roles and responsibilities)
 Organizations with clear roles and resp. are more ready to
transform to e-age
 Roles and responsibilities must be derived from Org
structure.
 will facilitate changes mandated by reengineered and
automated business processed.
 Will also facilitate reassignment of authority,
empowerment..etc
 check:
 Job description completeness
 Matching it with existing business processes,
 Availability of effective change management for job
descriptions

63.  HR Attraction and retention
◦ There is a need to deal with highly wanted workers
◦ Risk: training workers will make them drain out
◦ Must change HR policies to retain skilled workers.

64. ◦ HR Motivation
 Unmotivated workers can not afford change
 Need for national level motivation system
 Align workers personal ambitions with e-trans
programs objectives
 Rewards (personal, organizational and leader)

65.  HR Performance Management
 Organization performance depends on HR
 HR performance data will help in strategic planning
 Monitoring e-trans initiative on HR Performance
 This will help restructuring HR to the optimum
Aim:
agency will be able to
better manage its human
capital during and after
transformation

66.  HR Development polices and procedures
◦ E-transformation will mandate new skills
◦ E-transformation plans need to be integrated to
other HR development plan
◦ Successive Management to sustain success ad
continuity.

67.  4.3 Effective Communication
◦ "People in organizations typically spend over 75% of
their time in an interpersonal situation"
[Wertheim, 2007];
◦ Vertical and Horizontal communication:
 Disseminate e-transformation
awareness
 Collaboration between stakeholders
 Support Daily activities
 Communication is essential part of
business process
 Replace conventional communication
tools with new automated and
electronic ones.

68.  4.4 Risk management maturity
◦ So many threats are threatening e-transformation
 Business process controls
 IT Security
◦ Will evaluate:
 Clear role of risk management
 Availability of policies and
procedures
 Business continuity plans
◦ Result: more controlled
environment while transforming.

70.  IT Security is considered as key barrier for e-
transformation
 Even successful org. has too much to do to
secure its information.
 IT threats:
◦ Are so many
◦ Diversified
◦ Of high specialty
◦ New threats are coming every day
 IT security must be addressed at national level
 IT security include many non technical roles

71.  5.1 Top management realization
◦ Each org. has its own IT Security structure
◦ IT security is tightly related to informational model
◦ Top management is responsible and accountable
for IT security.
◦ High level steering committee should effectively
follow up IT security

72.  5.2 Business department readiness
◦ Are departments heads and executives aware of
their role in IT security.
◦ Are they participating in data classification
◦ Evaluate access rights management
◦ IT security management structure:
 Shared responsibilities
 Decision making
 Independent audit.

73.  5.3 ICT function readiness
◦ Must afford IT security criteria:
 Confidentiality
 Integrity
 Availability
 Will evaluate:
◦ ICT awareness about IT security concepts
◦ Current IT security practices (policies & procedures)
◦ Coordination level with other stakeholders.

74.  5.3 ICT function readiness
◦ IT team skills:
 Risk Assessment
 Impact analysis
 Countermeasures
 Incident Management
 Disaster Recovery

75. ◦ Current IT security practices:
 Protective Countermeasures
 Corrective Countermeasures
 Best practices (ISO17799 , BS7799)
◦ Assets management
◦ Human resources security
◦ Physical and Environmental Security

76. More details are in my book:
Available in Arabic and English
http://www.amazon.com/Organizational-Readiness-Transformation-Aqel-M/dp/1479752290

77. Aqel M. Aqel
aqel.aqel@gmail.com
Mobile: +966-502-104-007