A company's business plan is one of its most important documents. It can be used by managers and executives for internal planning. It can be used as the basis for loan applications from banks and other lenders. It can be used to persuade investors that a company is a good investment. For start-up ventures, the process of preparing a business plan serves as a road map to the future by making entrepreneurs and business owners think through their strategies, evaluate their basic business concepts, recognize their business's limitations, and avoid a variety of mistakes.

Business Plan is the primary source of information for potential purchasers of a company or one of its divisions or product lines. As with outside lenders and investors, business plans prepared for potential buyers provide them with verifiable facts and projections about the company's performance. The business plan must communicate the basic business premise or concept of the company, present its strengths as well as weaknesses, and provide indications of the company's long-term viability. When a company is attempting to sell off a division or product line, the business plan defines the new business entity.

Virtually every business needs a business plan. Lack of proper planning is one of the most often cited reasons for business failures. Business plans help companies identify their goals and objectives and provide them with tactics and strategies to reach those goals. They are not historical documents; rather, they embody a set of management decisions about necessary steps for the business to reach its objectives and perform in accordance with its capabilities.

Preparing the Business Plan

The process of preparing and developing a business plan is an interactive one that involves every functional area of a company. Successful business plans are usually the result of team effort, in which all employees provide input based on their special areas of expertise and technical skill. Business owners and managers provide overall support for the planning process as well as general guidelines and feedback on the plan as it is being developed.

Once the planning process has been fully organized, participants can begin the process of assessment. Internal evaluations include identification of strengths and weaknesses of all areas of the business. In addition, it is generally useful to assess and evaluate such external factors as the general economy, competition, relevant technologies, trends, and other circumstances outside the control of the company that can affect its performance or fundamental health.
Setting goals and defining strategies are the next key steps in the planning process. Using the assessment and evaluation of internal and external factors, fundamental goals for the business are developed. Pertinent areas to be studied include the company's competitive philosophy, its market focus, and its customer service philosophy. Specific performance and operational strategies are then established, based on these goals.

After strategies and goals have been defined, they are translated into specific plans and programs. These plans and programs determine how a company's resources will be managed in order to implement its strategies and achieve its goals. Specific areas that require their own plans and programs include the overall organization of the company, sales and marketing, products and production, and finance. Finally, these specific plans are assembled into the completed business plan.

Elements of a Business Plan

Business plans must include authoritative, factual data, usually obtained from a wide range of sources. The plans must be written in a consistent and realistic manner. Contradictions or inconsistencies within a business plan create doubts in the minds of its readers. Problems and risks associated with the business should be described rather than avoided, then used as the basis for presenting thoughtful solutions and contingency plans. Business plans can be tailored to the needs and interests of specific audiences by emphasizing or presenting differently certain categories of information in different versions of the plan.

Business plans contain a number of specific elements as well as certain general characteristics. These include a general description of the company and its products or services, an executive summary, management and organizational charts, sales and marketing plans, financial plans, and production plans. They describe the general direction of a company in terms of its underlying philosophy, goals, and objectives. Business plans explain specific steps and actions that will be taken as well as their rationale. That is, they not only tell how a company will achieve its strategic objectives, they also tell why specific decisions have been made. Anticipated problems and the company's response to them are usually included. In effect, business plans are a set of management decisions about how the company will proceed along a specified course of action, with justifications for those decisions. Listed below are brief descriptions of the major elements found in business plans.

Include the same information on the title page. If you have a logo, you can use it, too. A table of contents follows the executive summary or statement of purpose, so that readers can quickly find the information or financial data they need.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. This is usually a two-to five-page summary of the entire business plan. It is an important part of the plan, in that it is designed to capture the reader's attention and create an interest in the company. It usually includes the company's mission statement and summarizes its competitive advantages, sales and profit projections, financial requirements, plans to repay lenders or investors, and the amount of financing requested.

DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS. The business description includes not only a profile of the company, but also a picture of the industry in which the company operates. Every business operates within a specific context that affects its growth potential. The description of a company's operating environment may cover new products and developments in the industry, trends and outlook for the industry, and overall economic trends.

The intent of the company profile, meanwhile, is to provide readers with a description of unique features that give the company an edge in the environment in which it competes. A brief company history reveals how specific products and services were developed, while descriptions of pertinent contracts and agreements should also be mentioned (information on contracts and legal agreements may also be included in an appendix to the business plan). Other topics covered include operational procedures and research and development.

DESCRIPTION OF PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES. The goal of this section is to differentiate a company's products or services from those of the competition. It describes specific customer needs that are uniquely met by the firm's products or services. Product features are translated into customer benefits. Product life cycles and their effects on sales and marketing can be described. The company's plans for a new generation of products or services may also be included in this section.

DESCRIPTION OF MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE. The quality of a company's management team can be the most important aspect of a business plan. This section presents the strengths of the company's management team by highlighting relevant experience, achievements, and past performance. Key areas include management's ability to provide planning, organizational skills, and leadership. This section also contains information about the company's ownership and work force. It may present an existing or planned organizational structure that will accomplish the goals set forth in the business plan. Specific management and control systems are often described as well.

MARKET ANALYSIS. A thorough market analysis serves as the basis for a company's sales and marketing plans. The analysis generally covers the company's competition, customers, products, and market acceptance. The competitive analysis details the competition's strengths and weaknesses, providing a basis for discovering market opportunities. A customer analysis provides a picture of who buys and uses the company's products or services. This section of the business plan highlights how the company's products or services satisfy previously unfulfilled market needs. It also includes evidence of market acceptance of the company's unique products or services.

SALES AND MARKETING PLAN. The marketing plan delineates the methods and activities that will be employed to reach the company's revenue goals. This section describes the company's customer base, products or services, and marketing and sales programs. The latter is supported by conclusions drawn from the market analysis. Different revenue outcomes may be presented to allow for contingency planning in the areas of finance and production.

PRODUCTION PLAN. A production plan is usually included if the business is involved in manufacturing a product. Based on the sales and marketing plan, the production plan covers production options that are available to produce a desired mix of products. The production plan contains information that allows for budgeting for such costs as labor and materials. In non-manufacturing companies, this section would cover new service development.

FINANCIAL PLAN. This section covers the financing and cash flow requirements implicit in other areas of the business plan. It contains projections of income, expenses, and cash flow, as well as descriptions of budgeting and financial controls. Financial projections must be supported by verifiable facts, such as sales figures or market research. Monthly figures are generally given for the first two years, followed by annual figures for the next three to eight years. If the business plan is written for investors or lenders, the amount of financing required may be included here or in a separate section.

IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE. This section provides key dates pertaining to finance, marketing, and production. It indicates when specific financing is needed, when specific aspects of a particular marketing campaign will take place, and delivery dates based on production schedules.

CONTINGENCYPLANS. This section defines problems and challenges that the company may face and outlines contingency plans for overcoming obstacles that might arise. Specific topics that may be explored are competitive responses, areas of weakness or vulnerability, legal constraints, staffing, and continuity of leadership.

OTHER DETAILS. Most business plans include a table of contents and a cover sheet containing basic information about the company. An appendix may include a variety of documentation that supports different sections of the business plan. Among the items that may be found in an appendix are footnotes from the main plan, biographies, graphs and charts, copies of contracts and agreements, and references.

On the other hand, Information Systems Plan described the sequence for implementing specific information systems. The goal of the strategy is to deliver the most valuable business information at the earliest time possible in the most cost-effective manner.

According to Whitemarsh ISP, The end product of the information systems project is an information systems plan (ISP). Once deployed, the information systems department can implement the plan with confidence that they are doing the correct information systems project at the right time and in the right sequence. The focus of the ISP is not one information system but the entire suite of information systems for the enterprise. Once developed, each identified information system is seen in context with all other information systems within the enterprise.

Characteristics of a Quality ISP

A quality ISP must exhibit five distinct characteristics before it is useful. These five are presented in the table that follows.

a.) Timely¬¬- The ISP must be timely. An ISP that is created long after it is needed is useless. In almost all cases, it makes no sense to take longer to plan work than to perform the work planned.

b.) Useable- The ISP must be useable. It must be so for all the projects as well as for each project. The ISP should exist in sections that once adopted can be parceled out to project managers and immediately started.

c.) Maintainable -The ISP should be maintainable. New business opportunities, new computers, business mergers, etc. all affect the ISP. The ISP must support quick changes to the estimates, technologies employed, and possibly even to the fundamental project sequences. Once these changes are accomplished, the new ISP should be just a few computer program executions away.

d.) Quality- While the ISP must be a quality product, no ISP is ever perfect on the first try. As the ISP is executed, the metrics employed to derive the individual project estimates become refined as a consequence of new hardware technologies, code generators, techniques, or faster working staff. As these changes occur, their effects should be installable into the data that supports ISP computation. In short, the ISP is a living document. It should be updated with every technology event, and certainly no less often than quarterly.

e.) Reproducible The ISP must be reproducible. That is, when its development activities are performed by any other staff, the ISP produced should essentially be the same. The ISP should not significantly vary by staff assigned.

Therefore, Business Plans and IS Plan written primarily for use within the company generally stress the benefits that will result from implementation of the plan. These may include improved and more consistent performance, improved coordination and consistency among various segments of the company, greater ability to measure performance, empowerment of the work force, and a better motivated and educated work force. The plan provides a comprehensive framework and direction for ongoing operations.

It is also use to identify the company's strengths and weaknesses, potential problems, and emerging issues. They set forth performance standards on which expectations will be based, and clearly define goals and objectives to allow for coordination and better communication between all company areas.

References:
http://www.business-plan-success.com/Articles/BusinessPlanDefinition/
http://www.answers.com/topic/business-plan
http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/term/82322.html

Progress in information technology (IT) has been remarkable, but the best truly is yet to come: the power of IT as a human enabler is just beginning to be realized. Whether the nation builds on this momentum or plateaus prematurely depends on today's decisions about fundamental research in computer science (CS) and the related fields behind IT.

Information Technology is committed to the values of

• Reliability
• Professionalism and integrity
• Efficiency and effectiveness
• Innovation
• Excellence
• Collaboration and teamwork

I see myself as a systems analyst or an IT consultant 10 years from now is an IT consultant.

IT Consultant

It works in partnership with clients, advising them how to use information technology in order to meet their business objectives or overcome problems. Consultants work to improve the structure and efficiency and of an organization’s IT systems.

IT consultants may be involved in a variety of activities, including marketing, project management, client relationship management and systems development.

Strategic Plan

Organizations that want their information technology (IT) Training and Education programs to be successful must carefully distinguish between the two concepts. Training is the process by which people gain tangible skills that they can start applying immediately. Education, on the other hand, is process by which people gain knowledge and understanding. Training and education can occur in class room settings, in mentoring sessions, or through apprenticing. The point is that we need both training and education to help round out the skills. This approach is comprised of six activities:

1. Assess
It is critical that you get IT professionals the right Training and Education at the right time, and the only way that you can do this is through regular assessment of their skills. To do this successfully you must:

a.Directly involve the staff member. Minimally, you need to find out what their goals are and where they think that they need to improve their skills. Better yet, they may have a very good idea as to what training that they need, opinions which they gained through talking with the colleagues and their own research.

b.Assess regularly. Although many organizations will update a person's skills as part of their annual staff review, this often isn't sufficient. It's unlikely that you'll identify the training courses that someone will need on a project starting in August during their annual review in December of the previous year. Good points to assess someone's skills include: during their regular staff review, at the beginning of a project, and when they think that they need an assessment done.

c.Keep the assessment simple. The best way to do a skills assessment is to simply have the staff member sit down and have a discussion with one or more experienced people that understand both the person's current skills as well as what is needed to do their job successfully.

d. Go at it from different angles. An experienced team lead may be able to give someone good advice for what Training and Education then need to become a better Visual Basic programmer, but may not be able to provide good advice when it comes to communication skills. Remember, there are different categories of IT skills.

2. Specific Introductory Training
IT professionals need specific, introductory training, on new subjects. A serious mistake that many organizations make is that they assume that because someone is in a senior position that they don't need introductory training. For example, an experienced Java programmer could very likely benefit from a two-day introductory course in user interface design and a senior executive an introduction to Extreme Programming (XP).

3. Mentoring and Hands-on Experience
Once the initial training is complete, you are ready to begin applying their new skills. It is at this point that many organizations run into trouble because they mistakenly believe that their staff now has the necessary skills to do the job on their own. Often, nothing could be further from the truth.

Mentors should participate as active members of your project team, not just as teachers. For a mentor to be a productive member of the team you will need a ratio of one mentor for every two or three novices, anything more and the mentor will be too busy mentoring to get anything done on your project. There is nothing wrong with this, as long as there are other experienced people available to develop the complex portions of your application. Project teams consisting of one expert and a large number of novices are likely to fail.

Mentoring is in addition to training and education, not a replacement for it. One of the roles of a mentor is to help your project team to see the big picture and will need to refocus the team occasionally by explaining how new methods can be applied to solve development problems. Mentors should be involved throughout the entire project, especially at the early stages of it, so that the learning process gets off on the right track.

4. Advanced Training
After several months of hands-on experience, developers should return to the classroom for advanced training. The experience that developers have gained gives them the knowledge that they need to understand and absorb the material presented in the advanced courses. For example, an advanced modeling course is likely to concentrate on analysis and design patterns and an advanced programming course will convey a series of programming tips and tricks. Advanced training courses often combine both training and education aspects.

5. Support the Learning Experience
There is far more to the Training and Education process than formal classroom training. To support the learning experience you can promote:

a. Learning teams. Learning teams are small, cross-functional groups of people who are given the task of working together to learn a particular new technology or technique. Learning teams are often asked to produce a small application for the company, perhaps something for the human resources or marketing departments. They are usually asked to spend between 20 and 50% of their working hours on the mini-project, devoting the rest of their time to their current responsibilities. Members of the learning team will still need initial training and mentoring, otherwise they are likely to flounder.

b. Reading groups. A common technique is for a group of people to choose to read a book together and then to get together and discuss it on a regular basis.

c. Bag-lunch training. These are one-hour mini-lessons held during the daily lunch break. The sessions are typically given by an expert in the subject, usually but not always one of your mentors, and will cover a wide range topics. Successful bag-lunch training programs typically involve 2 or 3 sessions a week with each individual session being given several times so that everyone has an opportunity to attend, minimally you should try to give a session once a week. Bag-lunch sessions are easy to do and really give a boost to the learning process.

d. Information access. Get people access to the Internet, magazine subscriptions, and books. There is a lot of information out there, much of which is free for the taking.

e. Mentoring

f. Computer-based training (CBT). CBT is also a valid Training and Education approach, especially when combined with formal training and mentoring. Many organizations provide their employees access to introductory CBT courses before sending them on formal training courses, giving them a head-start on learning. Unfortunately, CBT by itself is of minimal value by itself. Most aspects of software development are simply too complex, and evolve too quickly, to be captured in a CBT course. Furthermore, when you have questions about something you need to talk to an expert to get them answered. A computer cannot do that for you, although a mentor can (mentoring and CBT are a powerful combination). In short, CBT is only part of the solution, albeit a potentially important one.

6. Training and Education Tips
Here are the several tips and techniques that lead to success in training and education:

a. Get your staff into the habit of learning. The rate of change in the information technology (IT) industry is simply too fast to allow someone to train once and then sit on their laurels.

b. Just-in-time (JIT) training is critical. Give your people training when they need it, not several months before or several months after. People will forget the majority of what they have learned less than a month later unless they apply their new skills immediately after training. Training typically occurs within the scope of a project, often at the beginning of it, so remember to include training in your project plans.

c. Educate as well as train. Training gives you the skills to do your job, education gives you the knowledge to understand your job. The most important thing that an educational program can do is to explain the interrelationships of the concepts and techniques.

d. Expect to train in a variety of skills. Software development is complex, and successful IT staff needs a wide range of skills.

e. Perform skills assessments for everyone. You need to understand someone’s current skills before you can develop an effective training plan for them. You'll also want to assess their skills on a regular basis to ensure that they are receiving the training and education that they need, many people unfortunately do not actively manage their own training plan.

f. Recognize that not everyone learns the same way. Some people learn best in the classroom, while others learn best by sitting down and working with a language, and others learn best through working with others. Because no training and education approach is perfect for everyone you will want to create an approach that can be modified to meet the needs of individual students. Flexibility is a key success factor.

g. Motivate everybody. Motivating junior developers is typically no problem: They are usually chomping at the bit to improve their development skills. Unfortunately some experienced developers aren’t so eager, perhaps they are afraid they will not be able to pick it up as fast as others. Given time and a flexible learning environment everyone can learn the new skills required in modern information technology shops, they just have to want to learn. A good strategy is to make the benefits of the new technique/technology, as well as the potential risks, apparent to everyone involved. If people understand what's in it for them, they'll be far more motivated that those who don't.

h. Expect to deal with bruised egos. A significant problem with transitioning experienced developers into new technologies or techniques is the fact that overnight they are go from being a recognized expert to a recognized novice. This hurts. Developers need to realize that if they apply themselves they can become experts once again, it just takes awhile.

i. Expect the “I’ve done it before” syndrome. For example I have argued for years that there is nothing new in agile software development, it's just a packaging of existing techniques which work really well. Familiarity with some of the underlying principles of a new technique makes it easy to convince yourself that you’ve been doing it all along. This problem is usually self correcting because as soon as someone starts to work on a real project with good mentors they quickly realize that there is a lot more to to the new technique than what they originally thought.

j.Recognize that you cannot retrain everyone at once. Except in very small IT shops you'll never transition your entire staff to a new technique all at once. It's too risky, it takes time to learn the ins and outs of new techniques within your environment, and frankly there are basic logistical problems you need to deal with. You need these people to keep your existing legacy systems up and running, but at the same time they want to be involved in the exciting new projects. My advice is to keep them up to date on what’s being learned on the project, let them know when and how they will be brought on to it, give them access to new tools on off-hours so they can learn on their own, invite them to bag-lunch training sessions, and give them access to books and magazines. Not everyone can be on the first project, but they can still be involved in the learning process. If you do not involve them you risk losing them.

k. Recognize that some colleges and universities are still not familiar with the new techniques that you want to adoptThe point is that traditional sources of training and education may not yet be available to you.

l. Getting people into training quickly. Once you have made the decision to adopt a new technology/technique get training in it as soon as possible. Although it is a very good idea to do some reading on your own, the bottom line is that it is too easy to misunderstand an issue and not realize it. Professional instructors can help you to learn the technique properly and to avoid gaining bad habits.

m. Teach from experience. Good instructors practice what they preach and that their hands-on experience gives them the confidence and the ability to address tough questions.

n. Recognize that people do not quit because they are trained. I'm often shocked to discover IT organizations that are unwilling to train their staff because they don't want to lose people to their competition, the implication being that they prefer to have staff that nobody else wants to hire. The reality is that developers quit because the money is not good enough, the work is not interesting enough, or because they do not like the people they’re working with. For example, agile software developers are paid more than non-agile developers (because they're worth it), and any organization that enters into agile software development had better be prepared to pay their people what they’re worth after training them and to provide them with interesting work. Agile developers are in demand and your competition would love to poach them from you. Treat your people well and they'll treat you well.

Reference:
http://www.ambysoft.com/essays/trainingAndEducation.html
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10795&page=1
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/p/types_of_job/it_consultant_job_description.jsp

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