IT Portfolio Management Step-by-Step: Unlocking the Business Value of Technology

3.5. IT GOVERNANCE

Overview

IT governance ensures that the right people make the right decisions in a timely basis to address the vital needs of a company. IT governance also helps eliminate rogue and duplicative spending, striving for reuse wherever appropriate. The MIT Center for Information Systems Research defines IT governance as "specifying the decision rights and accountability framework to encourage the desirable behavior in the use of IT."^[]

^[] Peter Weill and Richard Woodham, "Don't Just Lead, Govern! Implementing Effective IT Governance," MIT Center for Information Systems Research, CISR WP No. 326, April 2002.

Figure 3.1. CHALLENGES OF IT ORGANIZATIONAL MODELS

IT governance provides the structure for making current and future decisions, and it employs many of the same governance principles found within other functional areas of a corporation, such as finance and human resources. Leveraging the excellent work from Peter Weill, director of the Center for Information Systems Research at MIT, an IT governance framework includes:

• Determination of specific areas requiring decision rights and input (e.g., architecture, infrastructure, applications, project management, IT investment and prioritization)

• Structure and interrelationships (mechanisms) of groups making decisions (e.g., boards, committees, review boards, written policies, councils, project management office)

• Desired ...