Who is best informed to have the final decision on how the IT budget should be spent?
Lead Architect10%
Lead Developer30%
Lead Engineer8%
Business Unit Leaders10%
CIO31%
CFO3%
CEO4%
Other (please specify in comment section)
I think this is a tricky question because it specifically ask "how" which to me, reads as an execution question. Ultimately the business isn't going to know that you need X servers, Y architects, etc. Also it was specifically about the IT budget. IT, like any other area has its own budget and doesn't really need to be told how to spend it.
However, the decision on how much to allocate is a business decision based on the specific business strategy.
The emphasis on where to spend it is a business allocation. Find those capabilities that are behind from a competitive position and invest more. Find those capabilities/journeys that are ahead and spend less. The specific projects to do so are business problems and the business is accountable for ensuring that the project return the expected return.
IT ensure that it is allocating that budget in a way to be able to execute on those plans.
At least that is the 1 min version of how it should work, accountabilities are clear but it plays out very collaboratively.
*HOW* should that person be informed? Well, it sould be a combination of architects, infosec, business lines and ops people. They all need to play together, including how to figure out staffing to handle any new workload.
1. Where does the funding come from? Line of business (LOB) or IT?
2. Regardless of the previous question, who manages the priorities? Marketing, LOB, etc.
3. Does IT have a dedicated budget for maintenance (KLO, technical debt)?
4. How many different LOB are relying on IT?
Steve