The relevance of CobiT 5 on IT programme management governance

Abstract: Organisations exist to create value for their stakeholders. In order to do so, an organisation has to establish overall corporate governance mechanisms that set rules and structures for direction and control, while ensuring the delivery of corporate performance and sustainable value-capital enhancement in accordance with corporate strategy; thus, maintaining stakeholders’ confidence. The extent to which business relies on Information Technology (IT) has emphasised the need to extend corporate governance mechanisms to IT. Organisations have become totally reliant on IT for success, and it has even become impossible for many to function without it. As the business strategy of an organisation relies on IT, the organisation must have the same level of commitment devoted to financial supervision and overall enterprise governance including IT. IT governance has become a crucial part of a successful compliance effort as numerous IT frameworks exist, providing guidance on how IT within an organisation should be directed and controlled. Various studies have proven that most IT investments are made within the organisation through IT projects. The board should therefore oversee the value delivery of IT, and monitor the return on investment from significant IT projects. The Control Objective for Information and Related Technologies (CobiT), considered to be the authoritative source of IT governance that addresses the full spectrum of IT governance duties, ties the business requirements of IT information and governance to the objectives of the IT service function; thus, failing to consider the complexities and temporary aspects of IT projects, specifically when these are undertaken in the context of an IT programme for their coordinated management in order to achieve benefits of strategic importance. By considering that CobiT 5 can be an important source of IT governance, this paper addresses three questions: (i) What are CobiT 5’s governance requirements that are relevant to IT programme management governance? (ii) What are the possible implications for IT programme management? and (iii) How would these implications be connected, integrated and aligned with the temporary aspect of an IT programme management framework? The research is an exploratory study designed to provide the relevance and implications of IT governance for IT programme management governance, using qualitative content analysis and inductive reasoning. A literature review is used to establish the foundation of programme management, and modelling by design will be useful for aligning implications derived from CobiT 5 to programme management. The results of this paper will extend and contextualise CobiT 5’s governance requirements to IT programme management. This will ensure that the focus areas and objectives of IT governance are covered, and that the main concerns of the executive regarding IT governance are addressed. By considering the huge investment placed in an IT programme and the consequence of its failure to the organisation, it is important to provide executives, the programme management team as well as academics with information on how an IT programme can be managed while ensuring they remain compliant with IT governance requirements