The importance and benefits of planning an Integrated Information and Management System Project are discussed in this paper from the perspective of a large water and sewer utility, the Birmingham Water Works and Sewer Board. In the early 1990s, the Board began to recognize the need to automate its mapping program and created a separate department dedicated to managing its Geographic Information System (GIS) operation. Also, the Board initiated a project to implement a GIS and automated mapping/facility management (AM/FM) system. The Board's needs soon extended beyond these improvements and the project was renamed the Integrated Information Management System and was broadened in scope to include business functions such as: mapping; facilities management; plant maintenance management; meter reading and testing; customer service; accounting; purchasing; laboratory management; and, document management. The four stages of planning are discussed: project initiation and information gathering; assessing and summarizing needs; software and hardware acquisition; and, implementation planning.