Changing industry structures and altering rules of competition is why most companies today face a new challenge in creating a competitive advantage. The meaning of Information Technology (IT) has changed from just being available to accelerating and facilitating processes to an integral part of the company’s mission and strategy. IT governance is what defines the holistic perspective of how to deal with and use IT, especially in large companies. The objective is to create advantages by aligning IT and corporate strategy in order to create value while minimizing risk and monitoring the performance of IT.
Many different frameworks and standards have emerged over the last years, providing processes and control objectives for keeping the company’s IT in a value-adding track. However, an important issue seems to be the huge availability of various frameworks. This mostly results in problems concerning the right decision on frameworks to be selected. Implementing efficient IT governance requires using only those processes that cover the individual IT-related issues and problems of a company best, while ignoring unnecessary ones. The use of frameworks is associated with costs and may quickly result in an inefficient use of IT governance. The present thesis addresses this challenge and shall help IT decision makers to decide on an efficient framework or set of frameworks. In order to do so, a model analyzes the fit between discovered IT-related problems and various existing publicly available frameworks. Different surveys and market analyses will be used for identifying possible IT-related problems. The creation of problem-clusters will help to determine the most efficient framework by measuring the coverage of processes by different frameworks. As a result, this thesis will provide an approach to avoid processes that may not be necessary while covering important ones for an efficient use of IT governance frameworks.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 IT Governance Fundamentals
2.1 Embedding IT Governance into Corporate Governance
2.2 Objectives
2.2.1 Strategic Alignment
2.2.2 Value Creation
2.2.3 Risk Management
2.2.4 Performance Measurement
2.3 Effectiveness and Efficiency
3 Analysis of IT Problems
3.1 Problem Identification
3.2 Clustering of Problems
3.2.1 Stage One
3.2.2 Stage Two
3.2.3 Stage Three
3.3 The Holistic Perspective
4 IT Governance Standards and Frameworks
4.1 The Argument
4.2 Selection
4.2.1 CObIT 4.1
4.2.1.1 Purpose
4.2.1.2 Structure
4.2.1.3 Classification
4.2.2 ITIL V3
4.2.2.1 Purpose
4.2.2.2 Structure
4.2.2.3 Classification
4.2.3 ISO/ IEC 27002: 2005
4.2.3.1 Purpose
4.2.3.2 Structure
4.2.3.3 Classification
4.2.4 Val IT
4.2.4.1 Purpose
4.2.4.2 Structure
4.2.4.3 Classification
4.2.5 IT BSC
4.2.5.1 Purpose
4.2.5.2 Structure
4.2.5.3 Classification
5 Practical Part
5.1 Defining an efficient IT Governance
5.2 Building a Framework for an efficient IT Governance
5.2.1 Approach
5.2.2 Matching Frameworks and Problem Clusters
5.2.3 Interpretation
5.2.4 Limitations of the Model
5.3 Findings
5.3.1 Selecting a Proper Framework
5.3.2 Mapping Frameworks
6 Conclusion and Future Implications
Objectives and Topics
This thesis aims to develop a model that supports IT decision-makers in maximizing IT governance efficiency by identifying the most appropriate frameworks and standards for their specific organizational needs.
- Analysis of fundamental IT governance objectives and their role in corporate strategy.
- Identification and clustering of frequent IT-related problems in modern organizations.
- Comparative evaluation and classification of selected IT governance frameworks (CObIT, ITIL, ISO 27002, Val IT, IT BSC).
- Development of a model for matching specific organizational IT problems with the most suitable framework processes.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1 Problem Identification
The ITGI Global Status Report 2008 was conducted with 749 respondents on CIO/CEO-levels throughout the world [ITGI2008b]. Several questions were asked related to the frequency of occurrence of IT-related problems, severity, evolution over the past 12 months (improvement or deterioration), and priority for resolution within that time frame. The results are as following, with most frequently occurring problems listed first:
Insufficent number of staff; IT service delivery problems; Staff with inadequate skills; High cost of IT with low or unproven return on investment; Problems with outsourcers; Lack of agility/ development problems; Problems with document content or knowledge management; Disconnect between IT strategy and business strategy; Inadequate disaster recovery or business continuity measures; Electronic archiving or storage problems; Serious operational IT incidents; IT neither meeting, nor supporting compliance requirements; Security and privacy incidents, eventually involving people, intrusion, etc. [ITGI2008b, 9 and 28]
According to the Accenture study, a major business goal is to ensure that executives spend enough time and effort working on an IT agenda. Accenture identified the following most frequently occurring IT-related problems on executive levels: Huge IT investments in time and money, but addressing the wrong levers; Focus on curtailing projects rather than creating competitive advantage through IT; Failure to achieve desired business goals; Failure to achieve desired IT effectiveness goals; “Many solutions don’t fit”; IT governance model goes into different direction than business; Abundance of technology alternatives; Over-delegation of IT governance challenges; Lack of strong fact base for making decisions; Assuming that the “best” technology solutions would emerge; Outside handling of the “system” through third parties; CIO is separated from technology executives; Centralized IT vs. decentralized IT. [Acce2005]
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: Provides an overview of the changing role of IT and the necessity for effective IT governance to build competitive advantage.
2 IT Governance Fundamentals: Defines IT governance, its objectives, and its embedment into corporate governance to align IT strategy with organizational goals.
3 Analysis of IT Problems: Identifies and clusters common IT-related problems through various research studies to understand real-world challenges.
4 IT Governance Standards and Frameworks: Analyzes five specific IT governance frameworks (CObIT, ITIL, ISO 27002, Val IT, IT BSC) regarding their purpose, structure, and classification.
5 Practical Part: Introduces a model to match IT problems with specific framework processes to optimize efficiency and minimize unnecessary implementation efforts.
6 Conclusion and Future Implications: Summarizes findings, discusses limitations of the model, and suggests that while no single "best" framework exists, an efficient, context-aware selection is crucial.
Keywords
IT Governance, Framework Selection, Strategic Alignment, Value Creation, Risk Management, Performance Measurement, CObIT, ITIL, ISO 27002, Val IT, IT BSC, Efficiency, Process Improvement, Information Technology, Corporate Strategy
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this thesis?
This thesis focuses on the challenge of implementing efficient IT governance by navigating the abundance of available frameworks to select those that best address a company's specific IT problems.
What are the central thematic fields?
The core themes include strategic IT alignment, value creation from IT investments, risk management, and the measurement of IT performance within large organizations.
What is the primary research goal?
The primary goal is to build a model that supports CIOs and IT decision-makers in selecting the most appropriate and efficient framework(s) to solve their specific organizational IT issues.
Which methodology is applied?
The author uses a combination of literature analysis, findings from global industry surveys, and the construction of a hierarchical model to cluster IT problems and match them with framework processes.
What does the main body cover?
The main body examines the foundations of IT governance, identifies prevalent industry problems, analyzes five key frameworks (CObIT, ITIL, etc.), and evaluates their practical effectiveness in addressing identified problem clusters.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include IT Governance, Framework Selection, Strategic Alignment, Value Creation, Risk Management, Performance Measurement, CObIT, and ITIL.
Why is there no "best" global IT governance framework?
The thesis concludes that organizations face different challenges based on industry, size, and business goals, necessitating a tailored, context-specific selection rather than a one-size-fits-all solution.
How does the model handle the risk of "inefficient" framework implementation?
The model focuses on selecting only those processes from a framework that directly address an organization's specific identified problems, thereby avoiding the costs and overhead of unnecessary or irrelevant framework components.
- Quote paper
- Christian Häfner (Author), 2008, Building a Framework for an efficient IT Governance, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/150166
