IS425 Course Reflection
My learning journey taking IS425 Digital Transformation Strategy, though intense, was fruitful and
enjoyable. Through our weekly classes, textbook readings, case studies, industry guest speakers, and
project work, I gathered many rich concepts, gained hands-on experience, and obtained practical
insights. Among all I learned over the course of the semester, the following three key learning points
stood out most to me.
1. Communicating Business Value
In Week 2, we learned the importance of communicating the Business Value of IT. Prof Wong
mentioned that aligning the objectives of IT with business performance and conveying metrics that
matter is an essential skill for IT personnel.
In addition, in my team’s feedback session with our Salesforce mentors, they stressed that the “so what”
of a solution is the most important question to address. Executives are looking for evidence of a good
return on investment (ROI), and money speaks. How I plan to apply this insight in my future career is
to remember that I must not only develop solid technical knowledge, but must also acquire business
acumen by focusing on how to use IT or other solutions to run, grow and transform the business, and
how to clearly convey the performance of a particular IT system in business terms.
2. Change Management
In week 7, we discussed change management and concepts from Kotter’s classic Leading Change.
Salient issues such as resistance to change and the need to anchor change at the cultural level brought
back to mind statements we heard in Week 1: “Perfect landing, wrong airport” and “You can deliver the
best IT solutions and still fail”. These statements drive home the fact that people are an indispensable
part of every organization. Following Kotter’s eight steps, change must be conveyed in a clear and
understandable manner to manage potential resistance to change and ensure success.
Whenever I encounter a situation calling for change, I will think about how to apply Kotter’s eight steps
for successful change management, keeping in mind the value of establishing a sense of urgency as
well as a clear vision and strategy. Adopting a people-centric approach will also help me to better
understand the sentiments at various levels and actively involve and empower the relevant stakeholders
so that the change can be carried out smoothly.
3. Risk Management
Finally, this course really emphasized to me risk management as an important part of IT Strategy as
well as any other project. Identifying, evaluating, and mitigating risks is a continuous process, and
sometimes there is a trade-off in terms of resources available, the probability of occurrence and current
measures in place. Risks can be both known and unknown, and we may even be unaware of certain
risks lurking in this VUCA world. A risk matrix can help assist in risk assessment and decision making.
Cybersecurity threats are especially prevalent in our digital age, and the sharing by Mr Michael Ong
from MHA shed light on the steps to follow for information risk management. He also introduced the
NIST Cybersecurity Framework, a set of best practices to handle risks: identify, protect, detect,
respond, and recover. Cybersecurity can be difficult to implement as it requires significant resources
and investment. However, we need to prioritize initiatives to manage risks, as the impact of a
cyberbreach may be destructive and take years to recover from.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I am grateful for the lessons taught in IS425, and am confident that they will prove useful
and continue to inform my future experiences and career ahead.
My learning journey taking IS425 Digital Transformation Strategy, though intense, was fruitful and
enjoyable. Through our weekly classes, textbook readings, case studies, industry guest speakers, and
project work, I gathered many rich concepts, gained hands-on experience, and obtained practical
insights. Among all I learned over the course of the semester, the following three key learning points
stood out most to me.
1. Communicating Business Value
In Week 2, we learned the importance of communicating the Business Value of IT. Prof Wong
mentioned that aligning the objectives of IT with business performance and conveying metrics that
matter is an essential skill for IT personnel.
In addition, in my team’s feedback session with our Salesforce mentors, they stressed that the “so what”
of a solution is the most important question to address. Executives are looking for evidence of a good
return on investment (ROI), and money speaks. How I plan to apply this insight in my future career is
to remember that I must not only develop solid technical knowledge, but must also acquire business
acumen by focusing on how to use IT or other solutions to run, grow and transform the business, and
how to clearly convey the performance of a particular IT system in business terms.
2. Change Management
In week 7, we discussed change management and concepts from Kotter’s classic Leading Change.
Salient issues such as resistance to change and the need to anchor change at the cultural level brought
back to mind statements we heard in Week 1: “Perfect landing, wrong airport” and “You can deliver the
best IT solutions and still fail”. These statements drive home the fact that people are an indispensable
part of every organization. Following Kotter’s eight steps, change must be conveyed in a clear and
understandable manner to manage potential resistance to change and ensure success.
Whenever I encounter a situation calling for change, I will think about how to apply Kotter’s eight steps
for successful change management, keeping in mind the value of establishing a sense of urgency as
well as a clear vision and strategy. Adopting a people-centric approach will also help me to better
understand the sentiments at various levels and actively involve and empower the relevant stakeholders
so that the change can be carried out smoothly.
3. Risk Management
Finally, this course really emphasized to me risk management as an important part of IT Strategy as
well as any other project. Identifying, evaluating, and mitigating risks is a continuous process, and
sometimes there is a trade-off in terms of resources available, the probability of occurrence and current
measures in place. Risks can be both known and unknown, and we may even be unaware of certain
risks lurking in this VUCA world. A risk matrix can help assist in risk assessment and decision making.
Cybersecurity threats are especially prevalent in our digital age, and the sharing by Mr Michael Ong
from MHA shed light on the steps to follow for information risk management. He also introduced the
NIST Cybersecurity Framework, a set of best practices to handle risks: identify, protect, detect,
respond, and recover. Cybersecurity can be difficult to implement as it requires significant resources
and investment. However, we need to prioritize initiatives to manage risks, as the impact of a
cyberbreach may be destructive and take years to recover from.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I am grateful for the lessons taught in IS425, and am confident that they will prove useful
and continue to inform my future experiences and career ahead.
