Chartered IT Professional (CITP) Strategy, Leadership and Business Change Flashcards

24 sample cards from the Strategy, Leadership and Business Change deck

Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.

1. What is the difference between push and pull communication methods?

   Push communication is sent directly to specific recipients (e.g. emails, reports) but does not confirm comprehension; pull communication is placed in a central location for recipients to access at will (e.g. intranet, knowledge base).

2. What is change management?

   A structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organisations from a current state to a desired future state, managing the people side of change to achieve adoption and minimise disruption.

3. What are the three stages of Lewin's change management model?

   Unfreeze (prepare and create motivation for change), Change/Transition (implement the new ways), and Refreeze (embed and stabilise the new state).

4. List the eight steps of Kotter's change model.

   1) Create urgency, 2) Build a guiding coalition, 3) Form a strategic vision, 4) Enlist a volunteer army (communicate), 5) Enable action by removing barriers, 6) Generate short-term wins, 7) Sustain acceleration, 8) Institute (anchor) change in the culture.

5. What does the ADKAR change model stand for?

   Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement - the five sequential outcomes an individual must achieve for change to succeed.

6. What are the stages of the Kubler-Ross change curve as applied to organisational change?

   Shock/Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance - reflecting the emotional journey people experience during change.

7. What is benefits management (benefits realisation)?

   The process of identifying, defining, planning, tracking, and realising the business benefits expected from an investment or change, ensuring they are actually delivered and sustained.

8. What is a benefits dependency network (BDN)?

   A technique that maps the relationships between enabling and business changes, IT enablers, business changes, and the benefits and objectives they lead to, working backwards from objectives to required investments.

9. Distinguish a tangible from an intangible benefit, giving an example of each.

   A tangible benefit can be measured and often valued financially (e.g. reduced operating cost); an intangible benefit is real but hard to quantify in money (e.g. improved staff morale or brand reputation).

10. What is organisational design?

    The process of structuring an organisation's roles, responsibilities, reporting lines, and processes to align with its strategy, enabling efficient and effective delivery of objectives.

11. Contrast a functional with a matrix organisational structure.

    A functional structure groups staff by specialism (e.g. finance, IT) with single reporting lines; a matrix structure overlays project/product lines on functions, so staff report to both a functional manager and a project manager (dual authority).

12. What is the 'span of control' in organisational design?

    The number of subordinates that report directly to a single manager; wide spans create flatter structures, narrow spans create taller hierarchies.

13. What are the seven elements of the McKinsey 7-S framework?

    Strategy, Structure, Systems (the 'hard' elements), and Shared Values, Skills, Style, Staff (the 'soft' elements), with Shared Values at the centre.

14. In IT financial management, what is the difference between CapEx and OpEx?

    Capital expenditure (CapEx) is spending on assets that provide long-term value and is depreciated over time (e.g. buying servers); operating expenditure (OpEx) is ongoing day-to-day running cost expensed in the period incurred (e.g. cloud subscriptions).

15. What is Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)?

    The complete cost of an asset over its whole lifecycle, including acquisition, implementation, operation, maintenance, support, and disposal - not just the initial purchase price.

16. What is chargeback in IT financial management?

    A model in which IT costs are billed back to the business units that consume the services, based on their actual usage, to drive accountability and cost-conscious behaviour.

17. What is the formula for Return on Investment (ROI)?

    $$ROI = \frac{\text{Net Benefit}}{\text{Cost of Investment}} \times 100\%$$ where Net Benefit = total benefits minus total costs.

18. What is a business case?

    A structured justification for a proposed investment or project, setting out the rationale, options appraised, costs, benefits, risks, and timescales to support a decision on whether to proceed.

19. State the formula for Net Present Value (NPV).

    $$NPV = \sum_{t=0}^{n} \frac{C_t}{(1+r)^{t}}$$ where $C_t$ is the net cash flow in period $t$, $r$ is the discount rate, and $n$ is the number of periods. A positive NPV indicates the investment adds value.

20. What does the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) represent?

    The discount rate $r$ at which a project's NPV equals zero, i.e. it solves $\sum_{t=0}^{n} \frac{C_t}{(1+r)^{t}} = 0$. A project is acceptable if its IRR exceeds the required rate of return (hurdle rate).

21. What is the payback period and how is it calculated for even cash flows?

    The time taken for cumulative net cash inflows to recover the initial investment. For even annual inflows: $$\text{Payback Period} = \frac{\text{Initial Investment}}{\text{Annual Net Cash Inflow}}$$ Shorter paybacks are generally preferred.

22. Name four common investment appraisal techniques and classify them by whether they account for the time value of money.

    Discounted (account for time value of money): Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return. Non-discounted: Payback Period and Accounting Rate of Return (ROI).

23. What are the main procurement contract types ranging from supplier-risk to buyer-risk, and what distinguishes them?

    Fixed-price (lump-sum) contracts place cost risk on the supplier; Time-and-materials contracts share risk based on effort and rates; Cost-reimbursable (cost-plus) contracts place most cost risk on the buyer by reimbursing actual costs plus a fee. The choice depends on how well requirements are defined.

24. What is a Service Level Agreement (SLA), and how does it differ from an Operational Level Agreement (OLA)?

    An SLA is a documented agreement between a service provider and a customer defining service targets (e.g. availability, response times); an OLA is an internal agreement between teams within the provider organisation that underpins the SLA. Underpinning Contracts (UCs) cover external suppliers.

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