The document proposes a new "business relationship manager" role to improve the relationship between business units and the IT department. These managers would address issues raised by each division and act as a liaison between the division and IT for feedback, assistance with projects, and ensuring appropriate IT services and compliance. The managers would use defined processes, tools, and information and require a mix of business and technical skills to understand division needs and help design new services.

1. Business Relationship Managers
role implementation and strategy

2. Business units are dissatisfied with the current relationship they have with the IT
department. They are experiencing a number of points of pain.
Points of Pain

3. A new role is proposed: a business relationship manager to address the gaps
identified by each division.
Business Relationship Managers
Business Analyst
Solution Architect
Business
Development
Manager
 Provide a conduit to the IT
department that is separate to the
Service Desk and management team
for complaints, compliments and
feedback
 Understand and partner with
assigned division to assist with
divisional business case preparation
and designing new services
 Ensure appropriate services and
service levels are tailored to relevant
division
 Engage with divisional risk and
regulatory compliance

4. Business relationship managers will be skilled employees of the IT department using
defined processes, partnering with particular parts of the organisation and will access
appropriate tools and information
•Complaints, compliments and feedback process
•Service level management process
•Service catalogue management process
•Design coordination process
Processes
•Retail
•Corporate
•Networks
Organisation
•The finance information management system
•The service management system
•Legal and compliance systems
•Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect (for modelling)
•Microsoft Excel (for quantitative analysis)
Tools
•Divisional strategic plans
•Service desk submissions
•Regulatory submissions
•Application knowledge management database
•Organisational strategic direction
Information

5. A day in the life of a business relationship manager…
8:30am
Opens email to see updates
from Gartner on mobile
technology use for utilities
9:30am
Checks ServiceNow record to
respond to a request for
assistance with Cityworks
11:0am
Workshop with commercial
manager, divisional branch
manager and SMEs to prepare
business case
1:00pm
Update service catalogue on
ActewAGL’s Intranet with new
service being rolled out by
BSD
2:30pm
Meet with BSD problem
manager business system
administrator to design a
regulatory fix
3:30pm
Meet with applications team
to determine root cause of
slow performing application
4:15pm
Produce business process
model for new campaign
process

6. Business relationship managers will need a mix of strong interpersonal skills, utilities and
commercial acumen, ability to negotiate and a solid analysis and design background
Business Relationship Management DNA TM
A competency model for BRM excellence from the BRM Institute
Develop, Nurture and Advance (DNA)

7. Strategic Partnering
Successful BRMs demonstrate high
competence in service shaping. They actively
engage with business leaders and discuss
future plans and strategies. BRMs identify how
BSD’s services advance business objectives.
Strategic Partnering
Business IQ
Service Portfolio
Management
Technology Domain
Knowledge
Business Transition
Management

8. Business IQ
Successful BRMs speak the language of the
businessL – understanding asset management,
safety, utility provision and disruptive
technologies. They understand the utilities
value chain, budgets, regulatory drivers and
constraints. Successful BRMs know how to use
appropriate metrics to drive divisional value.
Strategic Partnering
Business IQ
Service Portfolio
Management
Technology Domain
Knowledge
Business Transition
Management

9. Service Portfolio Management
Successful BRMs are able to align to the IT
department service portfolio with their
relevant divisional strategy. They understand
the available capabilities and the drivers and
constraints for designing new ones in the most
effective and cost efficient manner.
Strategic Partnering
Business IQ
Service Portfolio
Management
Technology Domain
Knowledge
Business Transition
Management

10. Technology Domain Knowledge
Successful BRMs are well-grounded in the
discipline of IT service management including
requirements elicitation, service strategy and
design. They’re experienced at liaising with
liaising and translating between technology
and business needs.
Strategic Partnering
Business IQ
Service Portfolio
Management
Technology Domain
Knowledge
Business Transition
Management

11. Business Transition Management
Successful BRMs understand the drivers of
change and the inter-dependencies among all
the moving parts. They appreciate intended
and unintended consequences of project and
program decisions and work to flesh out the
total cost of end-to-end
Strategic Partnering
Business IQ
Service Portfolio
Management
Technology Domain
Knowledge
Business Transition
Management

12. Strategic Partnering
Business IQ
Service Portfolio
Management
Technology Domain
Knowledge
Business Transition
Management
Powerful Communications
Successful BRMs are skilled in listening,
persuading, influencing and shaping
understanding. They communicate win-win
scenarios, surface disconnects and work to
resolve problems. When needed, they can say
“no” by offering meaningful alternatives.

13. BRMs will provide horizontal integration for key division areas (retail, corporate and
networks) to support the existing IT department structure designation of: design,
build and run.
CIO
Design Build Run
Strategy and
Architecture
Corporate business relationship manager
Retail business relationship manager
Networks business relationship manager