6
Dimensions
Goals, vision, core processes, finances, stakeholders, obligations. Every IT is measured against them.
SACOSI · The Concept
Situational Awareness.
IT that knows the situation.
The film series. Four films, about one minute each.
Film 01 · Everyone wants something different
- Film 02 The investor asks about IT Due diligence: what an investor wants to know about IT. approx. 1:00 · in production
- Film 03 The audit is coming Quality management, the auditor and the question of evidence. approx. 1:00 · in production
- Film 04 From ten people, IT is no longer a laptop Growth, regulations, CAPEX and OPEX. approx. 1:00 · in production
- Film 05 The buyer asks who knows the password Succession: what a buyer does not see of the IT before signing. approx. 1:00 · in production
Transcript: Everyone wants something different
- Mara, IT
- I’m Mara. I do IT here. And everyone wants something different from me.
- Daniel, CEO
- Mara, next year we’re opening two new branches. We can make that work, right?
- Mara
- He’s not talking about laptops. He’s talking about the company.
- Sandra, CFO
- And what’s the cost? This time up front, please – not in December.
- Mara
- Sandra doesn’t want technology. She wants predictability.
- Jonas, Shipping
- I just want to ship packages. Not type everything twice.
- Mara
- Fair.
- Mara
- Those aren’t IT wishes. That’s the company’s situation. And IT has to fit that – not the other way round.
- Mara
- So we build a situation picture. All interests on one page.
- Jonas
- Oh, that actually works.
- Mara
- That’s called Situational Awareness. Situation first. Then IT.
Films created with AI support. Characters, voices and companies are fictitious.
To listen to and take away.
Podcast Situation Picture · Episode 02Everyone wants something differentIn preparation
Download · Situation Briefing 01 to 07Situational Awareness from the perspective of your roleIn preparation
The full version of this page: Full text as Markdown
What it is.
When a company adapts itself to its IT, something is the wrong way round. Situational Awareness reverses this. First comes the situation of the company, with its goals, its finances and the expectations of its investors. Then comes IT that meets exactly that.
Situational Awareness.
In numbers.
4
Steps
Capture, understand, think ahead, lead and hand over.
0 → 2’200
Employees
Discover Airlines, 2021 to 2026, supported throughout with IT am Main.
< 4
Months
to independent IT for FraAlliance, the joint venture of Fraport and Lufthansa.
1995
Endsley
The three-level model of Situational Awareness from human factors research.
The situation includes more than IT.
Six dimensions form the situation picture. IT is measured against them, not the other way round.
-
L1
Company goals
Where the company wants to be in the next one to three years: growth, markets, profitability, exit or stability.
-
L2
Leadership vision
What the board of directors, executive management and founders intend for the company, including what is not yet in any strategy paper.
-
L3
Core processes
The processes by which the company earns its money. They determine what IT has to carry, not the other way round.
-
L4
Financial position
Liquidity, budget, cost structure and financing stage. IT that the company cannot afford is not a solution.
-
L5
Stakeholders and investors
What shareholders and partners, investors, the board of directors, supervisory bodies, customers and employees expect, and where these interests contradict each other.
-
L6
Obligations and risks
Regulation, contracts, security requirements and the risks the company cannot afford.
-
IT
Only then: IT.
It is designed so that it meets the goals of management, investors and stakeholders, and so that the company can afford it.
Four steps. A result that lasts.
01
What is really happening in the business?
Company goals, leadership vision, core processes, financial position, the interests of investors and stakeholders, obligations. Gathered from the people who run and finance the business, not in the server room.
ResultSituation picture, SWOT, process map
02
Where does IT help the goals, and where does it stand in the way?
Every friction between goals, processes, budget and system is named, assessed by its effect on business and finances, and brought to a decision.
ResultProcess flows, matrices, decision log
03
Which IT will carry the business in twelve to 36 months?
The target picture follows the goals of management and investors. Technology is chosen once it is clear what it has to carry and what it may cost.
ResultTarget picture and roadmap
04
Who carries it when I leave?
Implement, scale, hand over cleanly: Grow. Scale. Let go. Documented in a conformant manner in an auditable system, so that an internal team and any auditor can take over.
ResultRunning IT, audit-proof documentation, handover
Tools that executive management knows.
No IT jargon. Documented in a conformant manner.
SWOT analysis
Process map
Process flows
Matrices
Decision log
Auditable documentation
Real engagements.
Real impact.
Discover Airlines · 2021 to 2026
From zero to around 2’200 employees.
Implemented with IT am Main.
FraAlliance · 2022
Independent IT in under four months.
Implemented with IT am Main.
The next step.
Thirty minutes, no presentation. You describe the situation, I ask questions.
Call
Zürich +41 78 251 09 69
Frankfurt +49 152 27602667
FAQ Answers
Questions? Answers.
What is the advisory product Situational Awareness?
Situational Awareness is the advisory product of Ivo Schönberner. It aligns a company’s IT with the entire situation, that is with company goals, leadership vision, core processes, financial situation and the interests of investors and stakeholders: in four steps from capturing the situation through the fit analysis and the target picture to implementation and handover to an internal team.
What belongs in a situation picture according to Situational Awareness?
Six dimensions: the company’s goals, the leadership vision, the core processes, the financial position, the interests of investors and other stakeholders, and obligations and risks. IT is deliberately not part of the situation; it is measured against it.
Why does the financial position belong in IT consulting?
Because IT ties up money and can save money. Liquidity, budget, cost structure and financing stage decide which architecture is viable. A technically ideal solution that overstretches the company financially does not meet the goals of management.
How does Situational Awareness take investors and stakeholders into account?
Their expectations are explicitly captured in the situation picture, for example growth targets, exit readiness, due diligence readiness or requirements of shareholders. IT is designed to support these goals measurably, and conflicts of objectives between stakeholders are openly put forward for decision.
Which tools does Situational Awareness work with?
With proven management tools instead of IT jargon: SWOT analysis of the company, process map, process flows of the core processes (for example in BPMN), stakeholder, RACI and prioritisation matrices, and a decision log. The target picture and roadmap of IT are derived from these.
How does the documentation become audit-proof?
All results are kept in a conformant manner, for example according to the requirements of ISO 27001 and ISO 9001: versioned, with approvals, owners and evidence, in an auditable system instead of scattered files. This way an auditor can trace every decision, even after the handover.