What Is a Strategic Grid?
The strategic grid was introduced in 1983 by McFarlan, McKenney and Pyburn in Harvard Business Review's "The Information Archipelago -- Plotting a Course." Management can use the grid as a framework to evaluate the information technology (IT) portfolio within an organization.
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Grid Structure
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The strategic grid is two-dimensional graph. The horizontal or X axis measures how IT affects the organization's strategy. For some companies, such as Microsoft, Walmart and FedEx, market positioning is contingent on IT initiatives. The vertical or Y axis gauges the impact of IT on operations. For other organizations, such as eBay, Amazon and AOL, survival pivots on robust IT operations. A brief interruption in IT-enabled service may be costly, if not crippling.
Four Quadrants
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The grid created by the X and Y axes can be subdivided into four quadrants: "support" or low strategic and operational impact; "turnaround" or high strategic impact and low operational impact; "factory" or low strategic impact and high operational impact; and, "strategic" or high strategic and operational impact. While IT projects in turnaround cover new technologies that would exploit market opportunities, projects in support encompass process enhancements for unique users.
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Use by Chief Information Officer
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The CIO leverages the strategic grid to identify IT projects that can be outsourced, manage the governance of the IT portfolio and align IT initiatives with strategic objectives.
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