25 Questions a Chief Executive Should Ask About Software
This article discusses 25 key questions that CEOs should ask to ensure that the software their companies depend upon is an asset and not a liability to the corporations they control.
Wed, September 05, 2007
CIO — Software has been difficult to bring under executive control. In spite of software's importance to corporate operations, it has remained an intractable technology that causes almost as much trouble as it brings benefits.
Because many CEOs are 40 to 60 years of age, their background and training has included little information about dealing with software. This is also true for many vice presidents of operating units such as manufacturing, sales, marketing and human resources. However, every major corporation has largely automated its financial reporting, billing, marketing and manufacturing. Software is a critical factor for the time-to-market of many new products and may be embedded in the product itself. Ignorance is dangerous.
This article discusses 25 major software topics that CEOs (and other top executives) should understand, to ensure that the software their companies depend upon is an asset and not a liability to the corporations they control. The questions are in five major topic areas:
- Current "hot" topics
- Software usage, user satisfaction and corporate value
- Employee satisfaction and demographics
- The economic impact of software on the corporation
- Competitive analysis: how other companies deal with software
The answers would normally come from the CIO, vice president of information resources, vice president of software engineering or an equivalent position.
The data in this report is drawn from a number of my clients, which include about 150 Fortune 500 companies, several hundred smaller companies, and a number of government agencies and military services. A more complete picture of software issues and best practices can be found in my book, Software Assessments, Benchmarks, and Best Practices (Addison Wesley, 2000).
