Optimize IT Governance for Dynamic Decision-Making
Optimize governance to align with how your organization functions.
- New agile operating models and work practices are changing how decisions are being made.
- Customer expectations and demand for IT resources are increasing, but IT capacity is not.
- Decision rights are not clearly defined, and accountability is not well understood.
- It is difficult to allocate time and resources to build or execute governance effectively.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
Transparency into who owns the decision and when it needs to be made and having the required information to support recommendations are essential to optimize governance and raise business performance.
Impact and Result
- Use this blueprint to learn the essential elements of a strong governance structure and assess your current governance.
- Learn how to transform your current governance to an optimal state by identifying your operating model, drafting your current decision hierarchy, and delving into additional factors that will impact governance scope.
- Leverage our governance models and charter templates and design a governance framework that is suitable for your organization’s needs.
- Discover how to support your governance framework through strong supporting processes and meeting execution.
Member Testimonials
After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real-time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve. See our top member experiences for this blueprint and what our clients have to say.
9.3/10
Overall Impact
$164,286
Average $ Saved
24
Average Days Saved
Client
Experience
Impact
$ Saved
Days Saved
Town of Andover, MA
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
N/A
The organization frameworks provide an extremely powerful way to objective communicate issues of organizational change and to allow the team to wor... Read More
Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission
Guided Implementation
10/10
$10,000
20
Valence has the depth and breadth knowledge about governance and his flexible approach was what we exactly needed in our situation
PyroGenesis Canada Inc
Guided Implementation
10/10
$10,000
10
Earlham College
Guided Implementation
8/10
$64,999
7
Expert guidance from an experienced analyst and usable templates/tools/deliverables.
City of Fairfax
Guided Implementation
10/10
$26,649
20
Oregon Parks And Recreation Department
Guided Implementation
10/10
$12,999
20
Good sounding board. Good give and take of ideas and approaches. Good insights to my industry and flexibility to adapt to nuances of our particul... Read More
Nebraska Public Power District
Workshop
8/10
$12,999
20
Best - Use of some examples of "what right looks like", good facilitation, worst is the realization that it is going to be a long journey to implem... Read More
Department of State Development Infrastructure Local Government and Planning
Guided Implementation
10/10
$20,209
5
University of Northern British Columbia
Guided Implementation
10/10
$6,000
10
Sidney has a wealth of knowledge.
St Vrain Valley School District
Workshop
8/10
$9,099
18
Sumit was a great facilitator. He taught us a lot and brought levity to the conversation. It was a fun experience, and he kept the topic from being... Read More
The President and Fellows of Harvard College, a Massachusetts nonprofit corporation, acting by and through Harvard Business School
Guided Implementation
10/10
$32,499
20
The framework helped provide a solid foundation for us reviewing and reimagining our governance structures. We appreciate that it's easily customiz... Read More
City of Santa Fe
Workshop
10/10
$1.3M
120
Paul provided in-depth insight and made all the participants feel welcome. There wasn't a worst part. Participants shared how multimillion dollar p... Read More
City of Lakeland
Workshop
10/10
$64,999
50
Best experience was Valence's ability to articulate the details and hold strong on the governance processes, even when faced with Staff that tried ... Read More
Georgia Institute of Technology
Workshop
9/10
$1.3M
50
It was a great workshop.
Canada Border Services Agency
Workshop
9/10
$14,500
10
Great workshop delivered by Denis Goulet.
Avalon Health Care Management Inc.
Workshop
8/10
$12,999
5
Gaining a roadmap to move forward. Understand the common pitfalls. Working through scenarios to gain visibility on how best to address different ... Read More
The University of North Carolina System Office
Guided Implementation
10/10
$12,999
20
Sid has been effective in sharing with us what will and will not work.
Richland School District 400
Guided Implementation
10/10
$2,599
5
Arkansas Department of Transportation
Workshop
10/10
$1.3M
120
Paul was advertised as amazing and he definitely lived up to his advanced billing. Paul walked us through the entire process in an elevated and pro... Read More
American Traffic Safety Services Association
Guided Implementation
10/10
$12,599
10
Canada Border Services Agency
Guided Implementation
8/10
$1,000
1
Ampath
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
N/A
Monroe #1 BOCES
Guided Implementation
10/10
$31,499
35
This experience was excellent from the start. Sid's ability to facilitate the conversation to develop a structure and implementation plan fit for ... Read More
Richard Bland College
Guided Implementation
10/10
$31,499
20
Best, the knowledge, experience, and input provided. There were no bad parts.
Canada Border Services Agency
Guided Implementation
9/10
$10,000
10
Our advisor was very knowledgeable and provided us with sound recommendations and tools to help us implement those recommendations. Worst part i... Read More
Inmarsat Solutions Canada
Guided Implementation
8/10
N/A
10
The governance workbook used to identify and expose gaps in our IT governance framework Brittany's ability to provide an independent and informed ... Read More
Belmond
Guided Implementation
9/10
$10,000
10
Working with Sid was a pleasure, and it was great to learn from his knowledge and experience
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
Workshop
9/10
$62,999
5
I can't specifically provide actual data or experience as I was not in the off site but was given and good back brief.
Crawford & Company
Workshop
8/10
$12,599
20
Choice Properties Limited Partnership
Guided Implementation
10/10
$50,000
50
Best part: Having Sidney to guide me through the blueprint, focussing my attention on the areas that were most relevant to my situation and passin... Read More
IT Governance
Drive business value and enable effective decision making by optimizing IT governance structure and processes. This course makes up part of the Strategy & Governance Certificate.
Note: This course will be updated in May 2024.
- Course Modules: 5
- Estimated Completion Time: 2-2.5 hours
- Featured Analysts:
- Valence Howden, Research Director and Executive Advisor, CIO Practice
- Gord Harrison, SVP Research
Workshop: Optimize IT Governance for Dynamic Decision-Making
Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
Module 1: Current-State Assessment/Redesign
The Purpose
Understand business context and current challenges.
Key Benefits Achieved
A full understanding of your current governance maturity and areas that require greater focus.
Activities
Outputs
Discuss what IT governance is and what effective governance outcomes are.
Understand business context and strategy.
- Strategy and business context documented in Optimize IT Governance for Dynamic Decision-Making Workbook
Conduct SWOT analysis.
- SWOT documented in the workbook
Assess attitudes, behavior, and culture.
- Attitude, behavior, and culture impacts documented in the workbook
Identify your operating model and work practices.
- Operating model selected and documented in the workbook
Module 2: Transition and Future-State Design
The Purpose
Determine where decisions are being made in your current governance framework and the scope of your future governance model.
Key Benefits Achieved
A clear understanding of where decisions are being made in current governance framework and the scope and features of your redesign.
Activities
Outputs
Build your decision hierarchy.
- Decision hierarchy documented in the workbook
Define the scope of governance.
- Scope considerations documented in the workbook
Design governance goals.
- Goals of your future governance model documented in IT Steering Committee Charter
Design determining and specific principles (optional).
- Determining and specific principles documented in the workbook
Select your baseline governance model and customize for your organization.
- Future governance model drafted in the workbook
Module 3: Future-State Design/Implementation
The Purpose
Complete your future governance framework and define key processes to support governance objectives.
Key Benefits Achieved
- IT Steering Committee Charter and supporting committee charts
- Processes and business case intake form
Activities
Outputs
Define governance mandate and responsibilities.
- Mandate and responsibilities documented in IT Steering Committee Charter.
Select membership.
- Committee membership documented in charter
Define processes to support governance outcomes.
- Supporting processes documented in charter
Design business case intake form.
- Business case intake form
Module 4: Implementation of Governance Framework
The Purpose
Build a roadmap and draft executive communication.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Implementation plan
- Executive presentation
- All supporting committee charters
Activities
Outputs
Prioritize actions and update implementation plan.
- Implementation plan
Define meeting procedures.
- Committee procedures documented in IT Steering Committee Charter
Complete executive presentation.
- Committee procedures documented
Optimize IT Governance for Dynamic Decision-Making
Optimize governance to align with how your organization functions.
Analyst Perspective
Today's senior business and IT leaders face a business environment that has gotten progressively more complex. Business and technology transformation has changed work practices, operations, organizational structure, and how we manage risk and regulatory change. These changes impact how organizations assess risk vs. reward as well as the frequency with which decisions need to be made.
This increased complexity and uncertainty will require organizations to take a more fluid approach to governance, leveraging different styles of governance as their needs change to ensure alignment with organizational purpose and broader assurance expectations.
Although many organizations have the best intentions, they fail in practice due to a limited understanding of governance's true purpose and insufficient emphasis on the processes needed to support effective decision-making.
Donna Bales
Principal Research Director
Info-Tech Research Group
Executive Summary
| Your Challenge | Common Obstacles | Info-Tech's Approach |
|
|
Optimize your governance model to meet the changing needs of your organization.
|
Info-Tech Insight
Governance often fails not because of lack of intention but because of poor execution.
What is governance?
IT governance is a critical and embedded practice that ensures that information and technology investments, risks, and resources are aligned with the best interests of the organization and produce business value.
Effective governance ensures that the right technology investments are made at the right time to support and enable your organization's mission, vision, and goals.
| Five key outcomes of good governance | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strategic alignment | Value delivery | Resource optimization | Performance measurement | |
| Technology investments and portfolios are aligned with the organization's strategic objectives. | Organizational risks are understood and addressed to minimize impact and optimize opportunities. | IT investments and initiatives deliver their expected benefits. | Resources (people, finances, time) are appropriately allocated across the organization for optimal organizational benefit. | The performance of technology investments is monitored and used to determine future courses of action and to confirm achievement of success. |
| EVALUATE - DIRECT - MONITOR |
Ineffective governance leads to poor business outcomes
Governance, risk, and compliance (GRC)
67% of organizations that responded need more integrated processes and technologies to ensure GRC strategies perform well under stress.
OCEG, 2022
GRC principles are important tools to support enterprise management.
Governance sets the guardrails to ensure that the enterprise is in alignment with standards, regulations, and board decisions. A governance framework will communicate rules and expectations throughout the organization and monitor adherence.
Risk management is how the organization protects and creates enterprise value. It is an integral part of an organization's processes and enables a structured decision-making approach.
Compliance is the process of adhering to a set of guidelines; these could be external regulations and guidelines or internal corporate policies.
Risk, regulation, and governance are linked
The impact of new regulation and the management of new and emerging risk need to be well understood as they play an intrinsic part in how IT governance is structured to meet business objectives and optimize opportunities
| Legislation, laws, regulation, and guidance | Regulation informs how governance is executed and risk is managed | Board |
|
| Enterprise Risk Committee |
|
||
| Internal Control Functions (Compliance, IT, Risk Committee, Internal Audit) |
|
Understand governance versus management
Don't blur the lines between governance and management; each has a unique role to play. Confusing them results in wasted time and confusion around ownership.
Governance
I&T governance defines WHAT should be done and sets direction through prioritization and decision-making, monitoring overall IT performance.
Governance aligns with the mission and vision of the organization to guide IT.
Management
Management focuses on HOW to do things to achieve the WHAT. It is responsible for executing on, operating, and monitoring activities as determined by I&T governance.
Management makes decisions for implementation based on governance direction.
Image source: ISACA, 2012
Adapt your governance by leveraging styles to address your levels of complexity
As organizations mature and adapt to business needs and changing work practices, governance will also need to evolve to stay in alignment to corporate purpose.
Ad hoc and controlled governance practices tend to be more rigid, making these a poor fit for organizations requiring higher velocity delivery or using more agile and adaptive practices. However, these styles lend themselves well to smaller organizations with more hierarchical approaches to decision-making.
As complexity and uncertainty increases, organizations will evolve to more distributed operating models where teams are empowered to make optimal decisions in real time while ensuring that they are aligned with the best interests of the organization.
Greater complexity will require organizations to be more fluid in how they govern, adjusting the style of governance to suit organizational needs and uncertainty at a given time.
Top-down vs. bottom-up approach
Although a bottom-up strategy can drive changes to internal culture and attitude toward risk and the value of enterprise decision-making , a top-down executive-driven strategy will ultimately lead to improved decision-making and more successful business outcomes.
Top-Down
An executive-driven strategy is the optimal route for governance and enterprise decision-making, enabling:
- Strong strategic alignment and benefits realization.
- Clear accountability and quicker responses to escalated issues.
- More effective resource optimization.
- Greater visibility of IT issues, risks, and decisions.
A bottom-up strategy may help to:
- Drive changes in internal culture and attitude toward risk and decision-making.
- Improve resource optimization and decision-making at the IT level.
A bottom-up strategy may help IT teams in certain areas where insight into the big picture is lacking, but it will ultimately fail over time to achieve optimal governance outcomes.
Bottom-Up
Download the Optimize Governance Primer
About Info-Tech
Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest-growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.
We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.
What Is a Blueprint?
A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your IT problems.
Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.
Need Extra Help?
Speak With An Analyst
Get the help you need in this 5-phase advisory process. You'll receive 8 touchpoints with our researchers, all included in your membership.
Guided Implementation 1: Understand core aspects of good governance
- Call 1: Discuss outcomes of effective IT governance.
Guided Implementation 2: Assess the current state
- Call 1: Assess current maturity.
Guided Implementation 3: Transition governance via a redesign
- Call 1: Discuss operating model and decision hierarchy within your organization.
- Call 2: Discuss governance scope and goals.
Guided Implementation 4: Design future-state governance
- Call 1: Select your base model and optimize it to meet your governance needs.
- Call 2: Define mandate, responsibilities, and membership.
Guided Implementation 5: Implement the governance framework
- Call 1: Map supporting processes.
- Call 2: Prioritize steps and dependencies and update implementation plan.
Optimize IT Governance for Dynamic Decision-Making
Maximize Business Value From IT Through Benefits Realization
Build an IT Risk Management Program
Review and Improve Your IT Policy Library
Establish a Sustainable ESG Reporting Program
Take Control of Compliance Improvement to Conquer Every Audit
Establish an Effective System of Internal IT Controls to Mitigate Risks
Integrate IT Risk Into Enterprise Risk
The ESG Imperative and Its Impact on Organizations
Make Your IT Governance Adaptable
Build an IT Risk Taxonomy
