Rozanne Frost joined the CSIRO as CIO 18 months ago, having spent the bulk of her career with BHP's IT group. On arrival at the national research icon she found an organization embarked on a major realignment with six flagship groups being formed to align with "the national research priorities". A strategic direction had been mapped out for CSIRO through to 2007.

Frost's priority was to implement systems that would provide improved support, and streamline processes through the One IT program. She had to provide IT services to support the enterprise itself, and also the scientists. Recognizing that although goals had been set, there was still a need to provide information systems to support the business in the meantime, so Frost appointed an executive manager for service delivery. "He runs the operations while I run the change," she explains.

Having a recently defined, and relatively long-term strategic plan, Frost knows where the organization is headed, at least for now, and being on the executive management council ensures that she is alerted to any change as it arises. Alignment is therefore less of an issue than in organizations with an ad hoc approach to strategy. However, she acknowledges that there are systems required to support the scientists today that might eventually have to be replaced or retired as the strategic plan roll-out continues. Given the need to keep current users happy while planning for the future, Frost introduced a governance model that steers any project.

The governance model is built from cascading advisory and decision-making groups, one of which is a client advisory board that meets quarterly. Comprised of scientists out of CSIRO divisions, this group has oversight of any issues where conflicts (one scientist arguing his project is more important than another's) arise and provides Frost with an insight into CSIRO's priorities. Although this group can make recommendations, any final decisions regarding IT systems - whether it be prioritization, investment or suspension of resources - is taken by a subset of the executive team. Called the Business Needs Working Group, this is made up of two group executives (one of whom is Frost), the executive director of corporate operations, the deputy chief executive and a representative from the business development team.

The first meeting of this group took place in February and, says Frost, will help avoid situations arising where the squeakiest wheel gets most oil and IT projects are prioritized according to which scientist shouts loudest. "There had been some tendency to that in the first 18 months, but this process will minimize that," she says.

However, Frost believes that although there is a rigorous process in place to identify projects of importance, she will still have enough flexibility to deal with sudden changes in demand from the flagships. "When you have a major science project with external funding, then you need additional flexibility," she says.

Like the CSIRO, Stockland Trust has oversight committees meeting monthly to steer its triage decisions. "Because the direction is set by the committee," says CIO Eduardia de Gouveia, "we agree where the priorities really lie. That's not always well accepted, but we can say what is a priority.

"When a project slips down then we discuss it at the meeting, with the person who needs it agitating to step it up again. When we demote it, though, we tell people what we are doing and when it's likely to come back."

Of course it does not always come back. However, de Gouveia says that since Stockland has been going through a bit of an overhaul, there is a general understanding that as long as that overhaul succeeds a more stable and effective system will result, which, she says, is possibly why there has been little haggling from the users even when a pet project is demoted.

At present project management is done manually, and de Gouveia admits it is a "bit of a drag". She has been looking at alternatives for automating the system.

Project management is a fine art for the CIO of Siebel Systems. It has to be, as Mark Sunday has to deliver the information systems that underpin the business, beta test new roll-outs of product, and also act as a marketing evangelist to clients and prospects. Besides tackling the technical issues of a new roll-out, Sunday has to grapple with the change management issues at the coalface.

Such a rate of turnover and change has the potential to deliver the triage equivalent of a bikies' brawl.

To ensure that there is no blood on the computer room floor, Sunday has appointed a series of program managers responsible for monitoring employee enablement, pipeline management and customer support. Such is the rate of upgrade that everything is getting refreshed every 60 days, he says. Even so, priorities can change. "If at a juncture in time we seem to be going down the wrong path then I have no qualms about switching to a new path."

After all it is just another Friday night in technology's A&E department.