I found an EXCELLENT article in the Digital Energy Journal by Dutch Holland. In this article he explore different strategies for transforming operational requirements into successful initiatives.

Without stealing too much of his well articulated article, the five approaches normally used are:

• The by-the-book business analyst
• The business-experienced analyst”
• The businessman CIO
• The IT expert Inside the business
• The operations-led interface

I encourage anyone attempting to implement a operations-centric technological solution to read his article.

http://www.findingpetroleum.com/n/Making_new_IT_work_for_the_business/d1a1861b.aspx

“When trying to connect technology innovation with business, an intelligent interface between the two is required. It must be able to translate business opportunity into technical requirements; innovate, test and evaluate; and seamlessly implement new technology into the business.” ~Dutch Holland