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Contents vii
Section II IT Governance 87
Chapter 7 Creating IT Shared Services 88
IT Shared Services: An Overview 89
IT Shared Services: Pros and Cons 92
IT Shared Services: Key Organizational Success Factors 93
Identifying Candidate Services 94
An Integrated Model of IT Shared Services 95
Recommmendations for Creating Effective IT
Shared Services 96
Conclusion 99 • References 99
Chapter 8 A Management Framework for
IT Sourcing 100
A Maturity Model for IT Functions 101
IT Sourcing Options: Theory Versus Practice 105
The “Real” Decision Criteria 109
Decision Criterion #1: Flexibility 109
Decision Criterion #2: Control 109
Decision Criterion #3: Knowledge Enhancement 110
Decision Criterion #4: Business Exigency 110
A Decision Framework for Sourcing IT Functions 111
Identify Your Core IT Functions 111
Create a “Function Sourcing” Profile 111
Evolve Full-Time IT Personnel 113
Encourage Exploration of the Whole Range
of Sourcing Options 114
Combine Sourcing Options Strategically 114
A Management Framework for Successful
Sourcing 115
Develop a Sourcing Strategy 115
Develop a Risk Mitigation Strategy 115
Develop a Governance Strategy 116
Understand the Cost Structures 116
Chapter 9 The IT Budgeting Process 118
Key Concepts in IT Budgeting 119
The Importance of Budgets 121
The IT Planning and Budget Process 123

viii Contents
Corporate Processes 123
IT Processes 125
Assess Actual IT Spending 126
IT Budgeting Practices That Deliver Value 127
Chapter 10 Managing IT- Based Risk 130
A Holistic View of IT-Based Risk 131
Holistic Risk Management: A Portrait 134
Developing a Risk Management Framework 135
Improving Risk Management Capabilities 138
Appendix A A Selection of Risk Classification
Schemes 141
Chapter 11 Information Management: The Nexus
of Business and IT 142
Information Management: How Does It Fit? 143
A Framework For IM 145
Stage One: Develop an IM Policy 145
Stage Two: Articulate the Operational
Components 145
Stage Three: Establish Information Stewardship 146
Stage Four: Build Information Standards 147
Issues In IM 148
Culture and Behavior 148
Information Risk Management 149
Information Value 150
Privacy 150
Knowledge Management 151
The Knowing–Doing Gap 151
Getting Started in IM 151
Appendix A Elements of IM Operations 155
Mini Cases
Building Shared Services at RR Communications 156
Enterprise Architecture at Nationstate Insurance 160
IT Investment at North American Financial 165

Contents ix
Section III IT-Enabled Innovation 169
Chapter 12 Innovation with IT 170
The Need for Innovation: An Historical
Perspective 171
The Need for Innovation Now 171
Understanding Innovation 172
The Value of Innovation 174
Innovation Essentials: Motivation, Support,
and Direction 175
Challenges for IT leaders 177
Facilitating Innovation 179
Chapter 13 Big Data and Social Computing 182
The Social Media/Big Data Opportunity 183
Delivering Business Value with Big Data 185
Innovating with Big Data 189
Pulling in Two Different Directions: The Challenge
for IT Managers 190
First Steps for IT Leaders 192
Chapter 14 Improving the Customer Experience:
An IT Perspective 195
Customer Experience and Business value 196
Many Dimensions of Customer Experience 197
The Role of Technology in Customer Experience 199
Customer Experience Essentials for IT 200
First Steps to Improving Customer Experience 203
Chapter 15 Building Business Intelligence 206
Understanding Business Intelligence 207
The Need for Business Intelligence 208
The Challenge of Business Intelligence 209
The Role of IT in Business Intelligence 211
Improving Business Intelligence 213

x Contents
Chapter 16 Enabling Collaboration with IT 218
Why Collaborate? 219
Characteristics of Collaboration 222
Components of Successful Collaboration 225
The Role of IT in Collaboration 227
First Steps for Facilitating Effective Collaboration 229
Mini Cases
Innovation at International Foods 234
Consumerization of Technology at IFG 239
CRM at Minitrex 243
Customer Service at Datatronics 246
Section IV
IT Portfolio Development and Management 251
Chapter 17 Application Portfolio Management 252
The Applications Quagmire 253
The Benefits of a Portfolio Perspective 254
Making APM Happen 256
Capability 1: Strategy and Governance 258
Capability 2: Inventory Management 262
Capability 3: Reporting and Rationalization 263
Key Lessons Learned 264
Appendix A Application Information 266
Chapter 18 Managing IT Demand 270
Understanding IT Demand 271
The Economics of Demand Management 273
Three Tools for Demand management 273
Key Organizational Enablers for Effective Demand
Management 274
Strategic Initiative Management 275
Application Portfolio Management 276
Enterprise Architecture 276
Business–IT Partnership 277
Governance and Transparency 279

Contents xi
Chapter 19 Creating and Evolving a Technology
Roadmap 283
What is a Technology Roadmap? 284
The Benefits of a Technology Roadmap 285
External Benefits (Effectiveness) 285
Internal Benefits (Efficiency) 286
Elements of the Technology Roadmap 286
Activity #1: Guiding Principles 287
Activity #2: Assess Current Technology 288
Activity #3: Analyze Gaps 289
Activity #4: Evaluate Technology
Landscape 290
Activity #5: Describe Future Technology 291
Activity #6: Outline Migration Strategy 292
Activity #7: Establish Governance 292
Practical Steps for Developing a Technology
Roadmap 294
Appendix A Principles to Guide a Migration
Strategy 296
Chapter 20 Enhancing Development
Productivity 297
The Problem with System Development 298
Trends in System Development 299
Obstacles to Improving System Development
Productivity 302
Improving System Development Productivity: What we
know that Works 304
Next Steps to Improving System Development
Productivity 306
Chapter 21 Information Delivery: IT’s Evolving Role 310
Information and IT: Why Now? 311
Delivering Value Through Information 312
Effective Information Delivery 316
New Information Skills 316
New Information Roles 317
New Information Practices 317

xii Contents
New Information Strategies 318
The Future of Information Delivery 319
Mini Cases
Project Management at MM 324
Working Smarter at Continental Furniture International 328
Managing Technology at Genex Fuels 333
Index 336

Preface
Today, with information technology (IT) driving constant business transformation,
overwhelming organizations with information, enabling 24/7 global operations, and
undermining traditional business models, the challenge for business leaders is not
simply to manage IT, it is to use IT to deliver business value. Whereas until fairly recently,
decisions about IT could be safely delegated to technology specialists after a business
strategy had been developed, IT is now so closely integrated with business that, as one
CIO explained to us, “We can no longer deliver business solutions in our company
without using technology so IT and business strategy must constantly interact with
each other.”
What’s New in This Third Edition?
• Six new chapters focusing on current critical issues in IT management, including
IT shared services; big data and social computing; business intelligence; manag-
ing IT demand; improving the customer experience; and enhancing development
productivity.
• Two significantly revised chapters: on delivering IT functions through different
resourcing options; and innovating with IT.
• Two new mini cases based on real companies and real IT management situations:
Working Smarter at Continental Furniture and Enterprise Architecture at Nationstate
Insurance.
• A revised structure based on reader feedback with six chapters and two mini cases
from the second edition being moved to the Web site.
All too often, in our efforts to prepare future executives to deal effectively with
the issues of IT strategy and management, we lead them into a foreign country where
they encounter a different language, different culture, and different customs. Acronyms
(e.g., SOA, FTP/IP, SDLC, ITIL, ERP), buzzwords (e.g., asymmetric encryption, proxy
servers, agile, enterprise service bus), and the widely adopted practice of abstraction
(e.g., Is a software monitor a person, place, or thing?) present formidable “barriers to
entry” to the technologically uninitiated, but more important, they obscure the impor-
tance of teaching students how to make business decisions about a key organizational
resource. By taking a critical issues perspective, IT Strategy: Issues and Practices treats IT
as a tool to be leveraged to save and/or make money or transform an organization—not
as a study by itself.
As in the first two editions of this book, this third edition combines the experi-
ences and insights of many senior IT managers from leading-edge organizations with
thorough academic research to bring important issues in IT management to life and
demonstrate how IT strategy is put into action in contemporary businesses. This new
edition has been designed around an enhanced set of critical real-world issues in IT
management today, such as innovating with IT, working with big data and social media,
xiii

xiv Preface
enhancing customer experience, and designing for business intelligence and introduces
students to the challenges of making IT decisions that will have significant impacts on
how businesses function and deliver value to stakeholders.
IT Strategy: Issues and Practices focuses on how IT is changing and will continue to
change organizations as we now know them. However, rather than learning concepts
“free of context,” students are introduced to the complex decisions facing real organi-
zations by means of a number of mini cases. These provide an opportunity to apply
the models/theories/frameworks presented and help students integrate and assimilate
this material. By the end of the book, students will have the confidence and ability to
tackle the tough issues regarding IT management and strategy and a clear understand-
ing of their importance in delivering business value.
Key Features of This Book
• A focus on IT management issues as opposed to technology issues
• Critical IT issues explored within their organizational contexts
• Readily applicable models and frameworks for implementing IT strategies
• Mini cases to animate issues and focus classroom discussions on real-world deci-
sions, enabling problem-based learning
• Proven strategies and best practices from leading-edge organizations
• Useful and practical advice and guidelines for delivering value with IT
• Extensive teaching notes for all mini cases
A Different Approach to Teaching IT Strategy
The real world of IT is one of issues—critical issues—such as the following:
• How do we know if we are getting value from our IT investment?
• How can we innovate with IT?
• What specific IT functions should we seek from external providers?
• How do we build an IT leadership team that is a trusted partner with the business?
• How do we enhance IT capabilities?
• What is IT’s role in creating an intelligent business?
• How can we best take advantage of new technologies, such as big data and social
media, in our business?
• How can we manage IT risk?
However, the majority of management information systems (MIS) textbooks are orga-
nized by system category (e.g., supply chain, customer relationship
management, enterprise
resource planning), by system component (e.g., hardware, software,
networks), by system
function (e.g., marketing, financial, human resources), by
system type (e.g., transactional,
decisional, strategic), or by a combination of these. Unfortunately, such an organization
does not promote an understanding of IT management in practice.
IT Strategy: Issues and Practices tackles the real-world challenges of IT manage-
ment. First, it explores a set of the most important issues facing IT managers today, and
second, it provides a series of mini cases that present these critical IT issues within the
context of real organizations. By focusing the text as well as the mini cases on today’s
critical issues, the book naturally reinforces problem-based learning.

Preface xv
IT Strategy: Issues and Practices includes thirteen mini cases—each based on a real
company presented anonymously.1
Mini cases are not simply abbreviated versions of
standard, full-length business cases. They differ in two significant ways:
1. A horizontal perspective. Unlike standard cases that develop a single issue within
an organizational setting (i.e., a “vertical” slice of organizational life), mini cases
take a “horizontal” slice through a number of coexistent issues. Rather than looking
for a solution to a specific problem, as in a standard case, students analyzing a mini
case must first identify and prioritize the issues embedded within the case. This mim-
ics real life in organizations where the challenge lies in “knowing where to start” as
opposed to “solving a predefined problem.”
2. Highly relevant information. Mini cases are densely written. Unlike standard
cases, which intermix irrelevant information, in a mini case, each sentence exists for
a reason and reflects relevant information. As a result, students must analyze each
case very carefully so as not to miss critical aspects of the situation.
Teaching with mini cases is, thus, very different than teaching with standard cases.
With mini cases, students must determine what is really going on within the organiza-
tion. What first appears as a straightforward “technology” problem may in fact be a
political problem or one of five other “technology” problems. Detective work is, there-
fore, required. The problem identification and prioritization skills needed are essential
skills for future managers to learn for the simple reason that it is not possible for organi-
zations to tackle all of their problems concurrently. Mini cases help teach these skills to
students and can balance the problem-solving skills learned in other classes. Best of all,
detective work is fun and promotes lively classroom discussion.
Toassistinstructors,extensiveteachingnotesareavailableforallminicases.Developed
by the authors and based on “tried and true” in-class experience, these notes include case
summaries, identify the key issues within each case, present ancillary
information about the
company/industry represented in the case, and offer guidelines for organizing the class-
room discussion. Because of the structure of these mini cases and their embedded issues, it
is common for teaching notes to exceed the length of the actual mini case!
This book is most appropriate for MIS courses where the goal is to understand how
IT delivers organizational value. These courses are frequently labeled “IT Strategy” or
“IT Management” and are offered within undergraduate as well as MBA programs. For
undergraduate juniors and seniors in business and commerce programs, this is usually
the “capstone” MIS course. For MBA students, this course may be the compulsory core
course in MIS, or it may be an elective course.
Each chapter and mini case in this book has been thoroughly tested in a variety
of undergraduate, graduate, and executive programs at Queen’s School of Business.2
1
We are unable to identify these leading-edge companies by agreements established as part of our overall
research program (described later).
2
Queen’s School of Business is one of the world’s premier business schools, with a faculty team renowned
for its business experience and academic credentials. The School has earned international recognition for
its innovative approaches to team-based and experiential learning. In addition to its highly acclaimed MBA
programs, Queen’s School of Business is also home to Canada’s most prestigious undergraduate business
program and several outstanding graduate programs. As well, the School is one of the world’s largest and
most respected providers of executive education.

xvi Preface
These materials have proven highly successful within all programs because we adapt
how the material is presented according to the level of the students. Whereas under-
graduate students “learn” about critical business issues from the book and mini cases
for the first time, graduate students are able to “relate” to these same critical issues
based on their previous business experience. As a result, graduate students are able to
introduce personal experiences into the discussion of these critical IT issues.
Organization of This Book
One of the advantages of an issues-focused structure is that chapters can be approached
in any order because they do not build on one another. Chapter order is immaterial; that
is, one does not need to read the first three chapters to understand the fourth. This pro-
vides an instructor with maximum flexibility to organize a course as he or she sees fit.
Thus, within different courses/programs, the order of topics can be changed to focus on
different IT concepts.
Furthermore, because each mini case includes multiple issues, they, too, can be
used to serve different purposes. For example, the mini case “Building Shared Services
at RR Communications” can be used to focus on issues of governance, organizational
structure, and/or change management just as easily as shared services. The result is a
rich set of instructional materials that lends itself well to a variety of pedagogical appli-
cations, particularly problem-based learning, and that clearly illustrates the reality of IT
strategy in action.
The book is organized into four sections, each emphasizing a key component of
developing and delivering effective IT strategy:
• Section I: Delivering Value with IT is designed to examine the complex ways that
IT and business value are related. Over the past twenty years, researchers and prac-
titioners have come to understand that “business value” can mean many
different
things when applied to IT. Chapter 1 (Developing and Delivering on the IT Value
Proposition) explores these concepts in depth. Unlike the simplistic value propo-
sitions often used when implementing IT in organizations, this
chapter
presents
“value” as a multilayered business construct that must be effectively
managed at
several levels if technology is to achieve the benefits expected. Chapter 2 (Developing
IT Strategy for Business Value) examines the dynamic
interrelationship between
business and IT strategy and looks at the processes and critical
success
factors
used by organizations to ensure that both are well aligned. Chapter 3 (Linking IT
to Business Metrics) discusses new ways of measuring IT’s
effectiveness that pro-
mote closer business–IT alignment and help drive greater business value. Chapter
4 (Building a Strong Relationship with the Business) examines the nature of the
business–IT relationship and the characteristics of an effective relationship that
delivers real value to the enterprise. Chapter 5 (Communicating with Business
Managers) explores the business and interpersonal competencies that IT staff will
need in order to do their jobs effectively over the next five to seven years and what
companies should be doing to develop them. Finally, Chapter 6 (Building Better IT
Leaders from the Bottom Up) tackles the increasing need for improved leadership
skills in all IT staff and examines the expectations of the business for strategic and
innovative guidance from IT.

Preface xvii
In the mini cases associated with this section, the concepts of delivering
value with IT are explored in a number of different ways. We see business and
IT
executives at Hefty Hardware grappling with conflicting priorities and per-
spectives and how best to work together to achieve the company’s strategy. In
“Investing in TUFS,” CIO Martin Drysdale watches as all of the work his IT depart-
ment has put into a major new system fails to deliver value. And the “IT Planning
at ModMeters” mini case follows CIO Brian Smith’s efforts to create a strategic
IT plan that will align with business strategy, keep IT running, and not increase
IT’s budget.
• Section II: IT Governance explores key concepts in how the IT organization is
structured and managed to effectively deliver IT products and services to the orga-
nization. Chapter 7 (IT Shared Services) discusses how IT shared services should be
selected, organized, managed, and governed to achieve improved organizational
performance. Chapter 8 (A Management Framework for IT Sourcing) examines
how organizations are choosing to source and deliver different types of IT functions
and presents a framework to guide sourcing decisions. Chapter 9 (The IT Budgeting
Process) describes the “evil twin” of IT strategy, discussing how budgeting mecha-
nisms can significantly undermine effective business strategies and suggesting
practices for addressing this problem while maintaining traditional fiscal account-
ability. Chapter 10 (Managing IT-based Risk) describes how many IT organizations
have been given the responsibility of not only managing risk in their own activities
(i.e., project development, operations, and delivering business strategy) but also
of managing IT-based risk in all company activities (e.g., mobile computing, file
sharing, and online access to information and software) and the need for a holistic
framework to understand and deal with risk effectively. Chapter 11 (Information
Management: The Nexus of Business and IT) describes how new organizational
needs for more useful and integrated information are driving the development of
business-oriented functions within IT that focus specifically on information and
knowledge, as opposed to applications and data.
The mini cases in this section examine the difficulties of managing com-
plex IT issues when they intersect substantially with important business issues.
In “Building Shared Services at RR Communications,” we see an IT organiza-
tion in transition from a traditional divisional structure and governance model
to a more centralized enterprise model, and the long-term challenges experi-
enced by CIO Vince Patton in changing both business and IT practices, includ-
ing information management and delivery, to support this new approach. In
“Enterprise Architecture at Nationstate Insurance,” CIO Jane Denton endeavors
to make IT more flexible and agile, while incorporating new and emerging tech-
nologies into its strategy. In “IT Investment at North American Financial,” we
show the opportunities and challenges involved in prioritizing and resourcing
enterprisewide IT projects and monitoring that anticipated benefits are being
achieved.
• Section III: IT-Enabled Innovation discusses some of the ways technology is
being used to transform organizations. Chapter 12 (Innovation with IT) examines
the nature and importance of innovation with IT and describes a typical inno-
vation life cycle. Chapter 13 (Big Data and Social Computing) discusses how IT
leaders are incorporating big data and social media concepts and technologies

xviii Preface
to successfully deliver business value in new ways. Chapter 14 (Improving the
Customer Experience: An IT Perspective) explores the IT function’s role in creating
and improving an organization’s customer experiences and the role of technology
in helping companies to understand and learn from their customers’ experiences.
Chapter 15 (Building Business Intelligence) looks at the nature of business intelli-
gence and its relationship to data, information, and knowledge and how IT can be
used to build a more intelligent organization. Chapter 16 (Enabling Collaboration
with IT) identifies the principal forms of collaboration used in organizations, the
primary business drivers involved in them, how their business value is measured,
and the roles of IT and the business in enabling collaboration.
The mini cases in this section focus on the key challenges companies face in
innovating with IT. “Innovation at International Foods” contrasts the need for pro-
cess and control in corporate IT with the strong push to innovate with technology
and the difficulties that ensue from the clash of style and culture. “Consumerization
of Technology at IFG” looks at issues such as “bring your own device” (BYOD) to
the workplace. In “CRM at Minitrex,” we see some of the internal technological and
political conflicts that result from a strategic decision to become more customercen-
tric. Finally, “Customer Service at Datatronics” explores the importance of present-
ing unified, customer-facing IT to customers.
• Section IV: IT Portfolio Development and Management looks at how the IT
function must transform itself to be able to deliver business value effectively in
the future. Chapter 17 (Application Portfolio Management) describes the ongoing
management process of categorizing, assessing, and rationalizing the IT application
portfolio. Chapter 18 (Managing IT Demand) looks at the often neglected issue of
demand management (as opposed to supply management), explores the root causes
of the demand for IT services, and identifies a number of tools and enablers to
facilitate more effective demand management. Chapter 19 (Creating and Evolving
a Technology Roadmap) examines the challenges IT managers face in implement-
ing new infrastructure, technology standards, and types of technology in their real-
world business and technical environments, which is composed of a huge variety of
hardware, software, applications, and other technologies, some of which date back
more than thirty years. Chapter 20 (Enhancing Development Productivity) explores
how system development practices are changing and how managers can create
an environment to promote improved development productivity. And Chapter 21
(Information Delivery: IT’s Evolving Role) examines the fresh challenges IT faces in
managing the exponential growth of data and digital assets; privacy and account-
ability concerns; and new demands for access to information on an anywhere, any-
time basis.
The mini cases associated with this section describe many of these themes
embedded within real organizational contexts. “Project Management at MM” mini
case shows how a top-priority, strategic project can take a wrong turn when proj-
ect management skills are ineffective. “Working Smarter at Continental Furniture”
mini case follows an initiative to improve the company’s analytics so it can reduce
its environmental impact. And in the mini case “Managing Technology at Genex
Fuels,” we see CIO Nick Devlin trying to implement enterprisewide technology for
competitive advantage in an organization that has been limping along with obscure
and outdated systems.

Preface xix
Supplementary Materials
Online Instructor Resource Center
The following supplements are available online to adopting instructors:
• PowerPoint Lecture Notes
• Image Library (text art)
• Extensive Teaching Notes for all Mini cases
• Additional chapters including Developing IT Professionalism; IT Sourcing; Master
DataManagement;DevelopingITCapabilities;TheIdentityManagementChallenge;
Social Computing; Managing Perceptions of IT; IT in the New World of Corporate
Governance Reforms; Enhancing Customer Experiences with Technology; Creating
Digital Dashboards; and Managing Electronic Communications.
• Additional mini cases, including IT Leadership at MaxTrade; Creating a Process-Driven
Organization at Ag-Credit; Information Management at Homestyle Hotels; Knowledge
Management at Acme Consulting; Desktop Provisioning at CanCredit; and Leveraging
IT Vendors at SleepSmart.
For detailed descriptions of all of the supplements just listed, please visit http://
www.pearsonhighered.com/mckeen.
CourseSmart eTextbooks Online
CourseSmart is an exciting new choice for students looking to save money. As an alter-
native to purchasing the print textbook, students can purchase an electronic version of
the same content and save up to 50 percent off the suggested list price of the print text.
With a CourseSmart etextbook, students can search the text, make notes online, print
out reading assignments that incorporate lecture notes, and bookmark important pas-
sages for later review. www.coursesmart.com.
The Genesis of This Book
Since 1990 we have been meeting quarterly with a group of senior IT managers from
a number of leading-edge organizations (e.g., Eli Lilly, BMO, Honda, HP, CIBC, IBM,
Sears, Bell Canada, MacDonalds, and Sun Life) to identify and discuss critical IT manage-
ment issues. This focus group represents a wide variety of industry sectors (e.g., retail,

manufacturing, pharmaceutical, banking, telecommunications, insurance, media, food
processing, government, and automotive). Originally, it was established to meet the com-
panies’ needs for well-balanced, thoughtful, yet practical information on emerging IT
management topics, about which little or no research was available. However, we soon
recognized the value of this premise for our own research in the rapidly evolving field
of IT management. As a result, it quickly became a full-scale research program in which
we were able to use the focus group as an “early warning system” to document new IT
management issues, develop case studies around them, and explore more collaborative
approaches to identifying trends, challenges, and effective practices in each topic area.3
3
This now includes best practice case studies, field research in organizations, multidisciplinary qualitative
and quantitative research projects, and participation in numerous CIO research consortia.

xx Preface
As we shared our materials with our business students, we realized that this issues-
based approach resonated strongly with them, and we began to incorporate more of our
research into the classroom. This book is the result of our many years’ work with senior
IT managers, in organizations, and with students in the classroom.
Each issue in this book has been selected collaboratively by the focus group after
debate and discussion. As facilitators, our job has been to keep the group’s focus on IT
management issues, not technology per se. In preparation for each meeting, focus group
members researched the topic within their own organization, often involving a number
of members of their senior IT management team as well as subject matter experts in
the process. To guide them, we provided a series of questions about the issue, although
members are always free to explore it as they see fit. This approach provided both struc-
ture for the ensuing discussion and flexibility for those members whose
organizations
are approaching the issue in a different fashion.
The focus group then met in a full-day session, where the members discussed all
aspects of the issue. Many also shared corporate documents with the group. We facilitated
the discussion, in particular pushing the group to achieve a common understanding of
the dimensions of the issue and seeking examples, best practices, and guidelines for deal-
ing with the challenges involved. Following each session, we wrote a report based on the
discussion, incorporating relevant academic and practitioner materials where these were
available. (Because some topics are “bleeding edge,” there is often little traditional IT
research available on them.)
Each report has three parts:
1. A description of the issue and the challenges it presents for both business and IT
managers
2. Models and concepts derived from the literature to position the issue within a con-
textual framework
3. Near-term strategies (i.e., those that can be implemented immediately) that have
proven successful within organizations for dealing with the specific issue
Each chapter in this book focuses on one of these critical IT issues. We have learned
over the years that the issues themselves vary little across industries and organizations,
even in enterprises with unique IT strategies. However, each organization tackles the
same issue somewhat differently. It is this diversity that provides the richness of insight
in these chapters. Our collaborative research approach is based on our belief that when
dealing with complex and leading-edge issues, “everyone has part of the solution.”
Every focus group, therefore, provides us an opportunity to explore a topic from a

variety of perspectives and to integrate different experiences (both successful and oth-
erwise) so that collectively, a thorough understanding of each issue can be developed
and strategies for how it can be managed most successfully can be identified.

About the Authors
James D. McKeen is Professor Emeritus at the Queen’s School of Business. He has been
working in the IT field for many years as a practitioner, researcher, and consultant. In
2011, he was named the “IT Educator of the Year” by ComputerWorld Canada. Jim has
taught at universities in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the United States.
His research is widely published in a number of leading journals and he is the coau-
thor (with Heather Smith) of five books on IT management. Their most recent book—IT
Strategy: Issues and Practices (2nd ed.)—was the best-selling business book in Canada
(Globe and Mail, April 2012).
Heather A. Smith has been named the most-published researcher on IT management
issues in two successive studies (2006, 2009). A senior research associate with Queen’s
University School of Business, she is the author of five books, the most recent being IT
Strategy: Issues and Practices (Pearson Prentice Hall, 2012). She is also a senior research
associate with the American Society for Information Management’s Advanced Practices
Council. Aformer senior IT manager, she is codirector of the IT Management Forum and
the CIO Brief, which facilitate interorganizational learning among senior IT executives.
In addition, she consults and collaborates with organizations worldwide.
xxi

Acknowledgments
The work contained in this book is based on numerous meetings with many senior IT
managers. We would like to acknowledge our indebtedness to the following individuals
who willingly shared their insights based on their experiences “earned the hard way”:
Michael Balenzano, Sergei Beliaev, Matthias Benfey, Nastaran Bisheban, Peter
Borden, Eduardo Cadena, Dale Castle, Marc Collins, Diane Cope, Dan Di Salvo,
Ken Dschankilic, Michael East, Nada Farah, Mark Gillard, Gary Goldsmith, Ian
Graham, Keiko Gutierrez, Maureen Hall, Bruce Harding, Theresa Harrington,
Tom Hopson, Heather Hutchison, Jim Irich, Zeeshan Khan, Joanne Lafreniere,
Konstantine Liris, Lisa MacKay, Mark O’Gorman, Amin Panjwani, Troy Pariag,
Brian Patton, Marius Podaru, Helen Restivo, Pat Sadler, A. F. Salam, Ashish
Saxena, Joanne Scher, Stewart Scott, Andy Secord, Marie Shafi, Helen Shih, Trudy
Sykes, Bruce Thompson, Raju Uppalapati, Len Van Greuning, Laurie Schatzberg,
Ted Vincent, and Bond Wetherbe.
We would also like to recognize the contribution of Queen’s School of Business
to this work. The school has facilitated and supported our vision of better integrat-
ing academic research and practice and has helped make our collaborative approach
to the study of IT management and strategy an effective model for interorganizational
learning.
James D. McKeen
Kingston, Ontario
Heather A. Smith
School of Business
June 2014
xxii

S ect ion I
Delivering Value with IT
Chapter 1 Developing and Delivering on the IT Value Proposition
Chapter 2 Developing IT Strategy for Business Value
Chapter 3 Linking IT to Business Metrics
Chapter 4 Building a Strong Relationship with the Business
Chapter 5 Communicating with Business Managers
Chapter 6 Building Better IT Leaders from the Bottom Up
Mini Cases
■ Delivering Business Value with IT at Hefty Hardware
■ Investing in TUFS
■ IT Planning at ModMeters

2
C h a p t e r
1 Developing and Delivering
on the IT Value Proposition1
1
This chapter is based on the authors’ previously published article, Smith, H. A., and J. D. McKeen.
“Developing and Delivering on the IT Value Proposition.” Communications of the Association for Information
Systems 11 (April 2003): 438–50. Reproduced by permission of the Association for Information Systems.
I
t’s déjà vu all over again. For at least twenty years, business leaders have been

trying to figure out exactly how and where IT can be of value in their organizations.
And IT managers have been trying to learn how to deliver this value. When IT was
used mainly as a productivity improvement tool in small areas of a business, this was
a
relatively straightforward process. Value was measured by reduced head counts—
usually in clerical areas—and/or the ability to process more transactions per person.
However, as systems grew in scope and complexity, unfortunately so did the risks. Very
few companies escaped this period without making at least a few disastrous invest-
ments in systems that didn’t work or didn’t deliver the bottom-line benefits executives
thought they would. Naturally, fingers were pointed at IT.
With the advent of the strategic use of IT in business, it became even more difficult
to isolate and deliver on the IT value proposition. It was often hard to tell if an invest-
ment had paid off. Who could say how many competitors had been deterred or how
many customers had been attracted by a particular IT initiative? Many companies can
tell horror stories of how they have been left with a substantial investment in new forms
of technology with little to show for it. Although over the years there have been many
improvements in where and how IT investments are made and good controls have been
established to limit time and cost overruns, we are still not able to accurately articulate
and deliver on a value proposition for IT when it comes to anything other than simple
productivity improvements or cost savings.
Problems in delivering IT value can lie with how a value proposition is conceived
or in what is done to actually implement an idea—that is, selecting the right project and
doing the project right (Cooper et al. 2000; McKeen and Smith 2003; Peslak 2012). In
addition, although most firms attempt to calculate the expected payback of an IT invest-
ment before making it, few actually follow up to ensure that value has been achieved or
to question what needs to be done to make sure that value will be delivered.

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with Unrelated Content

Ellicott Hill
Artists and architects from far and near come to see the quaint
old house, known as “Connelly’s Tavern”, on Ellicott Hill. It is a sturdy,
perfectly proportioned old house, built of brick and wood, its timbers
said to have come from abandoned sailing vessels.
The style of architecture is early Spanish. It stands on a high
elevation, overlooking with aristocratic disdain the industrial
enterprises which have come in during the years to supplant the once
exclusive neighborhood of its original outlook. In early days, about
the end of the Civil War, the place was known as “Gilreath’s Hill”.

43
The tavern was built in 1795. It has been occupied by many
distinguished families.
The records show that at one time it was the home of “The
Natchez High School”. It was so used just after the War between the
States, when it was purchased by Wilson R. Gilreath.
Within the last few years the old building has commanded the
greatest degree of public interest. Its historic value is unmatched. In
addition to serving as the abode of many celebrated men, it attained
fame as Connelly’s Tavern when Aaron Burr and Blennerhasset met
therein for secret conferences.
The most outstanding historic fact of the old Hill, itself, is that it is
the spot whereon Col. Andrew Ellicott raised the first United States
flag in February 1797 over the District of Natchez. Since that episode
the spot has been known as “Ellicott Hill”.
Dilapidation followed the wake of time. However, so sturdy
were its timbers and so solid its foundation, it was possible to
restore the old building on the hill.
The work of restoration has been accomplished by the Natchez
Garden Club. Every old line has been carefully retained. Concrete
floors of the kitchen and Tap Room, plastered walls, cypress grill
work, solid doors, and roof are exact replicas of the originals. The old
retaining walls and moats of brick have been replaced as originally at
great cost. Today Ellicott Hill is shining in the full resplendency of its
original glory. It is the present home of the Natchez Garden Club.

44
FIREPLACE IN OLD TAVERN ROOM AT CONNELLY’S TAVERN

Elmscourt
A short drive from Natchez, over a modern highway which was
originally an Indian trail, through iron gates into a virgin forest, brings
one a first glimpse of Elmscourt.
This mansion was erected about the year 1810 by Louis Evans,
who was the first Sheriff of Adams county. He occupied it until 1851,
at which time Frank Surget bought it for his daughter Jane as a gift
when she married Ayers P. Merrill. It is said that Frank Surget was
one of the three multi-millionaires in the United States at that time.
Jane and her husband opened wide the doors of their palatial
home. General U. S. Grant was a frequent guest of Elmscourt, and by
reason of this friendly contact, Ayres Merrill was appointed Minister to
Belgium when Grant became President.
Elmscourt was originally Colonial in architecture but to please his
wife Mr. Merrill changed it into an Italian Renaissance villa. The

45
exquisite lacy iron work around its long galleries was imported from
Belgium.
The dainty antique furnishings in parlors, library, and dining room
are in perfect harmony with this period of architecture. Many original
pieces are retained. At the death of Ayres P. Merrill “Elmscourt”
descended to his son, Ayres P. Merrill Jr., and was sold by him to
James Surget, who gave it to his daughter, Carlotta, on the occasion
of her marriage to David McKittrick. Thus Elmscourt was again the
property of a Surget.
The McKittrick family have lived in Elmscourt many years. They
have added to the valuable collection of antique furnishings, Mrs.
McKittrick bringing in superb pieces from Surget heirlooms.
An outstanding piece of Elmscourt’s furnishing is a serving table,
made for the Duke of Devonshire and bearing his coat-of-arms. It
was a gift to Mrs. McKittrick.
In the dining room still swings the old hand-carved punka of
colonial days. At every meal, a servant stands at the end of the
long dining room and by rope-and-arm-power keeps the great fan
(punka) gently stirring, or creating, refreshing breezes for the
comfort of the diners.
The lighting of Elmscourt is the early designed candle
arrangement. Over doorways, in chandeliers, sconces, and wall
brackets hundreds of candles cast their welcoming, soft glow, and
add undying romance to the family portrait gallery and rich rosewood
furniture.
Each Spring season when tourists wend their way to Natchez for
its Spring festivities, the McKittricks of Elmscourt give their famous
“Ball of a Thousand Candles”. Lords and Ladies, the elite of Natchez,
in costume of days of long ago, greet their guests, and Elmscourt
becomes today what it has been in the past, an alluring setting for
colorful gatherings of notables.

46
The Table is a Present From The Duke of Devonshire.

47
Glenfield
Turn to the right on the first gravel road leading from Canal street
and within a stone’s throw of the paved highway nestles a quaint old
brick cottage surrounded by giant oaks and cedars. It is “Glenfield”,
the home of Mrs. Lee Field and her family.
Glenfield was built in 1812 by Charles B. Green. It is of Gothic
design and is constructed of red brick and hand-hewn timbers. Like
many of the old homes, “Glenfield” demonstrates two distinct types
of architecture. One part is low ceilinged with brick floors, while
another part has high ceilings, broad board floors, and ornate
windows with heavy hand-made blinds.

48
Glenfield contains many rare pieces of antique furniture. A most
interesting piece is an old spinning wheel, a family heirloom. It is
made of hickory and is brown with age. Charred spots bear silent
evidence to the old wheel’s narrow escape from destruction when
Indians set fire to the covered wagon bearing it while its pioneer
owner was bringing his family and household goods to this section.
Everything was destroyed except a few choice pieces. As one turns
the wheel today it seems to hum a chant of toil, trials and
tribulations.
Glenfield was originally “Glencannon”, named for its former owner,
William Cannon. The property is part of an original Spanish grant to
John Gerault under Don Manuel Gayoso de Lemos, who was then
governor of the Natchez Territory.
During the War Between the States “Glenfield” was a scene of
battle, and bullet holes made in that conflict can be seen today in
vivid contrast to the peace which now pervades the restful old home
amid vine-covered bayous and hills.

Glenwood
Conditions at Glenwood are not conducive to pride in the hearts of
Natchez people, and yet it is doubtful if any tourist leaves Natchez
without hearing, in some way, about this dilapidated old place. As all
things are good or bad by comparison, it may not be amiss when
depicting the glory of Natchez to glimpse the other side.
A Northern tourist upon seeing Glenwood (known today as “Goat
Castle”) said, “Well, I don’t know whether to cry or swear.”
Glenwood is the home of Richard Dana, a man of aristocratic
breeding and birth, and of his guardian, Miss Martha Dockery, a
stalwart, dark-eyed woman who has been for many years in charge
of Mr. Dana and the house.
“Dick” Dana, as he is called, and Miss Dockery are probably in
their late sixties.
Dick is the son of the late Charles B. Dana, an Episcopal
clergyman, and Elvira R. Dana. The Rev. Dr. Dana was from
Massachusetts.
Richard was given a splendid education. He was a pianist of
exceptional ability. As years passed he spent much of his fortune,
living a great part of the time in the East. When he returned to
Glenwood, he seemed to live the life of a hermit, living alone with his
piano and his music. Gradually gray locks reached his shoulders, and
long whiskers covered his face.
County officials decided it would be best to appoint a guardian for
him and Miss Dockery was named. The Dana and Dockery families
had been friends for generations. Miss Dockery, who was alone and
growing old, was glad to accept the charge of her old friend.
A few years ago there was a murder in the neighborhood. There
had been some trouble between the murdered woman and the

49
Dockery-Dana people because of trespassing goats. The two recluses
were accused of the murder. They were taken into court, held in
prison, stood trial, and finally were declared “not guilty”. Dana proved
that at the time of the murder he was playing the piano and was not
near the scene of the crime.
During the period of their incarceration, vandals ransacked “Goat
Castle” and carried away many valuable relics. A guard was finally
placed over the place to prevent souvenir hunters from taking the
remainder of the valuable pieces. Public sympathy was aroused, and
for a short time Dana and Miss Dockery were lionized. They seemed
to take a new lease on life. They improved in personal appearance.
They often came to town, but conditions in “Goat Castle” changed
little.
Goats roam the place in undisturbed joy. Chickens roost on the
foot of the great mahogany bed while Dick plays his old piano for
curious tourists who pay twenty-five cents to see the old aristocrat,
and Miss Dockery tells stories of the former wealth and prestige of
her friend, who desired to withdraw from the world.
Glenwood is falling. Neglect and age are causing decay. The
stables and outhouses are piles of mortar and decayed timbers,
though the grounds are still beautiful with majestic moss-draped oaks
and flowering magnolias.

50
GLENWOOD (known today as “Goat Castle”)

Gloucester
A mile drive from the city limits of Natchez, along a roadway
where moss-draped boughs overlap into a verdant shelter, brings one
in view of a stately red brick mansion. It is Gloucester. Still half
concealed by giant oaks and tropical growth, it seems a great ruby in
a gray-gold setting.
Gloucester is surrounded by 250 acres of farm land and virgin
timber. It was built about 1800, and is of solid brick construction.

51
Huge Corinthian columns support spacious galleries across the broad
front. The windows are iron barred and shuttered.
This mansion is of historic interest. It was the home of Governor
Winthrop Sargent, who was the first Governor of Mississippi Territory.
Front twin doorways are an unusual feature. Inside these doors
are the heavy wooden bars, the original fastenings against unfriendly
Indian tribes and traveling bandits, who were not infrequent during
the early days of life at Gloucester.
The twin doors open into a wide hallway which contains a graceful
curving stairway leading to hall and bedrooms above.
Gloucester has a splendid library of rare first editions and valuable
old books. The drawing room contains Colonial furniture and
paintings by masters.
Upon the death of Governor Sargent, Gloucester became the
property of his wife, who, in turn, willed it to her son, George
Washington Sargent.
During the occupation of Natchez by Federal troops, the young
Sargent was called to the doorway of Gloucester, and shot by two
soldiers to whom he had given greeting. Stains of the life-blood of
this George Washington Sargent are still visible on the doorway of
Gloucester. The murdered boy was buried beside his father in the
family burial ground across the road from the home.

GRAND HALLWAY OF GLOUCESTER
In the Negro quarters there are weird tales of ghosts wandering
over the premises. “Two tall ghosts, in uniform, carrying guns, come

52
on dark rainy nights when the owls hoot in the oaks above the
graves.”
Records show that in 1877 Gloucester was sold to James Surget,
who was one of Natchez’ earliest and most affluent citizens. This
home was continuously owned by the Surget family for sixty years,
until the recent death of Mrs. Katherine Boyd Surget, when the
property was bequeathed to its present owner, Lenox Stanton.
Mr. and Mrs. Stanton hold dear every Gloucester tradition and
take pride in maintaining the home and grounds in their original state
of perfection.

Hawthorne
On the famous Natchez Trace Highway, within calling distance of
the Lower Woodville road, through a narrow gateway flanked by
giant oaks, is a quaint little cottage, “Hawthorne”.
It is the old Southern Planter type home, a story-and-a-half.
A beautiful double front door with panels of early period thin glass
and an exquisitely wrought fanlight above give an atmosphere of
friendliness to the entrance.

53
Architects interested in the unusual find charm in the hand-hewn
stairway which rises from the broad back hall to the rooms above.
“Hawthorne” more than a century ago belonged to a family
named Overaker who sold the place with its sixty acres of wooded
land to the Dunbar family, under whose regime this quaint old home
sheltered and entertained the elite of the South as early as 1837. It is
believed that Hawthorne was built by the Tichenor family about 1825.
For many years this old place was vacant. Lumber mills and grist
mills crowded too near, but the property was recently bought by the
family of William McGehee, who are reclaiming “Hawthorne”. Every
line of the period architecture is being followed, and “Hawthorne”, its
meadows and gardens, will soon be restored as in stage coach days
to greet today its motor car visitors. The history of Hawthorne is a
sad story with a hopeful ending.

Hope Farm
A few years ago when “Hope Farm” fell into the hands of Mr. and
Mrs. Balfour Miller it was truly “getting a break” for rehabilitation.
Today when one steps into this old Spanish house, built about 1775,
there breathes from every crevice and corner the true atmosphere of
the Old South.
The original portion of Hope Farm, its English wing, is believed to
have been built by Marcus Haller. The front, the straight, low, Spanish
portion, was built by the Spanish Governor, de Grand Pre, about the
year 1790.
The low sweeping roof extending over a broad portico across the
entire front of the house is upheld by seven hand-hewn cypress
columns. Broad steps lead from the driveway to the terraced yard.
This yard is a veritable bouquet of old-fashioned small flowers,
bordered by boxwood and flanked by syringa, japonica, and other
old-fashioned evergreen shrubs. A radiant variety of orchid-like irises
dot the entire approach to the old brick steps of the terrace.
For ninety years Hope Farm belonged to the Montgomery family;
of the last generation of ten children (seven girls and three boys) two
of the sisters lived in spinsterhood at Hope Farm until within the last
few years when the property was acquired by the Millers.
Restoration of exterior and interior has been done with exceeding
care to hold every line of the original house. There were no nails in
the day when Hope Farm was built and its timbers are held together
by wooden pegs.
The front door leads directly into a huge living room, which opens
through an archway into a large dining room. These two rooms
extend across the entire front.

54
The welcoming gate of Hope Farm opens at the intersection of
Homochitto street on the drive to Duncan Park.

Homewood
It required five years to build this palatial mansion of brick,
cement, and iron grill, and until recently “Homewood”, exterior and

55
interior, was in a perfect state of preservation—just as it was the day
of its completion, more than 75 years ago. Homewood was destroyed
by fire, January 2, 1940.
By reason of its solid masonry (built to withstand the storms), its
architectural lines, and the grace and magnificence of its iron
trimmings, architects of note from all over the country came to
inspect and to study “Homewood”.
One million home-burned brick were used in the main structure.
Copper pipes laid in cement supplied the huge cisterns throughout
the years with cold drinking water. This construction represented the
work of hundreds of slaves. All locks, hinges, and door knobs were of
silver. The fluted Ionic columns and grill work were imported from
Spain.
Approaching Homewood by the magnificent forest driveway, it
was a wonderfully imposing structure with a front of thirty-foot
columns, an upper balcony of cast iron grill, and massive double
panel entrance doors flanked on either side by expensive ruby glass
which was imported from Belgium.

There were six rooms on the ground floor, connected by huge
sliding mahogany doors, making it possible to open the entire floor
into one immense room, 80 feet long. Leading to six rooms and cross
halls above was a fan spread stairway. The top floor was a peculiarly
constructed octagonal hall surrounded by eight large closets or
storage rooms with cedar linings.
The mantels in Homewood attracted much attention because of
their delicate beauty and apparent value. In the drawing room the
mantel was of white marble, while in the dining room stood one of
pink marble with deep rose tracings.
Homewood had no historic interest but it was an outstanding
example of the advanced architectural ideas of the builders of
Southern ante-bellum homes. It was built for a gift from David Hunt
to his daughter, Catherine, and her husband, William L. Balfour.
The most recent owners, Mr. and Mrs. Kingsly Swan, spared no
expense in maintaining this magnificent home and its spacious
grounds in model perfection.
Homewood was the scene of the famous double wedding so
effectively described in Stark Young’s So Red the Rose.
MAJESTIC RUINS OF HOMEWOOD

56
Inglewood
A Southern planter’s typical home, “Inglewood” stands today as
the perfection of a beautiful dream recalled from crumbling ruins of
years long gone. More than a century ago this quaint old story-and-a-
half house was built by Gustavus Calhoun, who practiced medicine in
Natchez Territory in 1829—back in the days when calls were made on
horseback and the doctor carried along his miniature drug store in his
“saddle bags”. Dr. Calhoun was a friend and contemporary of Dr.
Stephen Duncan of “Auburn”.
In 1858 “Inglewood” became the home of Edward M. Blackburn
through his marriage into the Calhoun family. It has been for many
years known as “the old Blackburn place.” Here the last member of

57
the Natchez Blackburn family lived until the old house was about to
tumble down. Then the place was purchased by Dr. Wallace Smith, a
young physician who came with his bride to reclaim and rebuild
Inglewood along the exact lines of its original architectural design.
The old gardens of Inglewood were once as famous for beauty as
those of “Arlington” and “Melrose” but the gardens too passed with
the old families. Doctor and Mrs. Smith are replanting, and are
replacing walks and borders of old-fashioned boxwood, everything to
conform as nearly as possible to original design.
Inglewood, like all Natchez homes, is off the highway, secluded by
forests, and only by careful observation can one glimpse the
gleaming white outlines of this beautiful old plantation home.
The approach to the house is marked at the public highway by a
wrought iron replica of the old-fashioned doctor’s horse and buggy.
Inglewood is today, as it was originally, the property of a practicing
physician’s family.

Jefferson College
Founded in 1802, Jefferson Military College is the oldest college
for boys in the State of Mississippi, and one of the oldest in the
United States.
It was here that the South’s beloved Jefferson Davis, who became
President of the Confederacy, attended school when he was ten years
old.

58
After the battle of New Orleans Gen. Andrew Jackson rested his
victorious army on the campus of this college, which is located six
miles from the city of Natchez.
Mississippi was a territory when the college came into existence.
On the spot where the constitution of the State of Mississippi was
adopted is a marker commemorating the birth of Mississippi as a
State. The marker was erected May 14, 1935, the 119th anniversary
of the State.
Near the front gate of the college there are two giant gnarled
liveoaks, known as the Aaron Burr oaks because they stood in front
of the old courthouse where Aaron Burr was tried for treason against
the United States. The old courthouse was demolished ages ago but
the oaks stand sentinel with wide spreading boughs marking the spot
famous in history and in story.

King’s Tavern
In the days when Indians roamed the territory of Natchez, block
houses were built by the white settlers who came that way. These
were sturdy, well-fortified houses built to protect occupants against
Indian outbreaks. Such is King’s Tavern—an inconspicuous, faded, old
wooden structure on a high brick foundation.
Although unostentatious, King’s Tavern is important. According to
the records it is the oldest building in this part of the South. Parts of

59
St. Augustine, Florida, are somewhat older. Its very atmosphere
breathes of days and people long dead; of Indians, of Spanish and
English and French noblemen; of weary travelers over foot paths or
by river boats, wandering into the old Tavern, resting, and then
departing, disappearing from the face of the earth.
The house is more than 170 years old. Records show that “the
first United States mail brought over the Natchez Trace was delivered
to King’s Tavern by an Indian runner and was distributed from this
point.”
The timbers are held together by wooden pegs and beams.
The heavier timbers are of the type used in the construction of
large ships of that period. Ceilings in the rooms are low. Doors and
windows are heavy with narrow frames. The sills and sleepers of the
building show the rope holes, again indicating that timbers came
from old sailing vessels.
The earliest official record of transfer of this property shows 1789
as the year it was granted to Richard King, a member of the King
family of Long Island, New York, and by him it was given the name
“King’s Tavern”. Formerly it had been known as the Bledsoe House.
For a period of about 115 years the property has been owned and
occupied by the descendants of Mrs. Elizabeth Postlethwaite.
An interesting relic of bygone years is a portrait in oils of the late
Samuel Postlethwaite III, who was Mayor of Natchez in 1825 when
the great Lafayette visited the little village. This portrait is signed by
the artist, Benjamin West.
Mrs. A. C. Register and Mrs. Jean Register Modsett, descendants
of the Postlethwaite family, are the present owners and occupants of
King’s Tavern.
Legend:
At night, when all’s dark and quiet at King’s Tavern, ghosts of
Indian warriors, in full dress of their native tribe, wander through
the old Tap Room, loll and lean against the old bar, peer out
through small crevices, and then disappear through the heavy
doors which lead onto the street.

60
Main Door at King’s Tavern Where Indian Runners Left the Mail
Bullet holes in the door are from an Indian attack during the early
days of Natchez.

Lansdown
Lansdown has been the home of the Marshall family for more
than eighty-five years. Like many other magnificent plantation homes
around Natchez, Lansdown was a wedding gift to Mr. and Mrs.
George Marshall, whose descendants of the same name own and
occupy today this comfortable Georgian type house.
Lansdown is an unpretentious but quite substantial structure with
a broad front portico enclosed by artistic grill bannisters fashioned in
Greek pattern. Broad, spreading steps lead down to a brick walk, and
on each side stand the old carriage blocks of yesteryear.

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