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IT Performance Measurements

IT Finance:   Adherence to budget, expenditures on maintenance vs. new development, expenditures on preventative maintenance, return on IT Investments, ratio of administrative (staff) costs to production (line) costs

IT Human Resource Management:  Turnover ratios, training per employee (amounts, hours), average tenure within the company

IT System Development:  Functions developed worth to users, number of lines coded/tested/changed, number of applications supporting critical business functions, hours spent on maintenance (person, program)

IT Operations:  Timely delivery of reports to users, average response time, average availability time, volume of data stored, mean time between failures, number of lines printed, volume of data maintained, number of shared applications, number of shared databases, number of online transactions processed

IT Compliance:  IT departmental terms of reference not followed, IT vision, mission and values statements not crafted, IT governance framework not instituted

Reports from Monitoring and Review of Controls

·        Back-up and recovery issues

·    Changes, problems, errors, security incidents and backlog of requests

·    Compliance issues

·    Critical performance measures per IT area

·    Development issues of new applications

·    Help desk related issues

·    Industry trends and developments

·    IT project milestones

·    Online access issues

·    Post-implementation review issues

·    Project actual costs (against budgets)

·    Technical performance issues

·    Transactions and jobs processed

ISO/IEC 38500:2008: Corporate governance of information technology

·  Acquire IT acquisitions and investments in a proper and valid way.

·  Corporate and IT strategy should be clearly aligned.

·  Ensure compliance with rules for all IT activities.

·  Ensure performance of IT is delivered when required.

·  Ensure respect and consideration for human factors in IT policies and practices.

·  Ensure that IT responsibilities are clearly established.

 

Main Types of IT Application Controls

·  End-user computing controls

    ·  Input, processing and output controls
    ·  IT application database, operation, change and testing controls

·  Monitoring and review controls

Main Types of Systems Software Controls

·    Audit trail log file controls

·    Data communications controls

·    Database controls

·    Monitoring and review controls.

·    Systems software operating environment controls

Main Types of Data Center Operational and Support Controls

·      Computer hardware management controls
·      Data center design and infrastructural controls
·      Data center physical access controls
·       IT contingency planning and disaster recovery controls
·       IT operational performance measures
·      Monitoring and review controls

Main Types of System Development Controls

·         Application systems development process controls

·         System development quality controls

·         Change management controls

·         Systems development personnel controls

·         Monitoring and review controls.

Main Types of Enterprise Architecture Controls

·         Enterprise Architecture (EA) description controls

·         Enterprise Architecture business related controls

·         Enterprise Architecture development roles

·         Enterprise Architecture IT-related controls

·         Enterprise Architecture performance measures

·         Designing and implementing plan for an Enterprise Architecture (EA) framework

·         Monitoring and review controls

·         Organizational Structure

Main Types Of IT Administration Controls

• IT administration performance measures.
• IT asset controls
• IT budget
• IT office administration controls
• IT personnel management controls
• IT purchasing controls
• IT standards, policies and procedures
• Monitoring and review controls

IT Department Functional Description Controls

• Detailed IT department terms of reference
• IT department job description controls
• IT department overall objectives
• IT department overall terms of reference
• Other IT roles at the senior management level

Main Types Of IT Organization Controls

·         IT department functional description controls

·         IT governance and control frameworks

·         IT organization controls

·         IT organization performance measures.

·         IT vision, mission and values statements

·         Monitoring and review controls

IT Governance Responsibilities

Strategy and structure – including the formulation of IT strategy, enterprise architecture and IT standards

Multi-year planning of initiatives, product and service plans, and the IT sourcing plan for the enterprise

Annual planning of priorities, initiatives, the operating plan/budget and capital plan/budget

Execution – which includes implementation, variations to the plan, performance targets and plans, and benefits realization.

Accenture’s IT strategy includes seven key elements:

·     Creating strong, central IT governance

·     Aligning the IT operating model with Accenture’s go-to- market strategy

·    Running IT like a business based on a managed-services approach

·    Consolidating, standardizing and centralizing operations

·    Focusing the workforce strategy on variable resources and low-cost locations

·    Strengthening IT performance measurement processes

·    Communicating successes and benefits realization at every opportunity.

Why we make bad decisions?

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When there is IT-based competitive advantage

·    A concern for information content exists

·  A consensus between senior managers and IS managers is present

·  Alignment of IS with organizational infrastructure is in force

·  Business literate IS managers are the norm 

·  IS literate business managers constitute majority

·  Maximum interaction between IS and business managers happens regularly

·  Strategic processes which were well documented are used appropriately

·  Strong well-established planning approach which involved staff at all levels is executed regularly

IT Audit Socialite

IT Leadership Roles

CHIEF OPERATING STRATEGIST: The chief operating strategist invents the future with senior management. The chief operating strategist is the top IS executive who is focused on the future agenda of the IS organization. The strategist has parallel responsibilities related to helping the business design the future, and then delivering it.

CHANGE LEADER: The change leader orchestrates resources to achieve optimal implementation of the future. The essential role of the change leader is to orchestrate all those resources that will be needed to execute the change program.

CHIEF ARCHITECT: The chief architect designs future possibilities for the business. The primary work of the chief architect is to design and evolve the IT infrastructure so that it will expand the range of future possibilities for the business, not define specific business outcomes.

PRODUCT DEVELOPER: The product developer helps define the company's place in the emerging digital economy. For example, a product developer might recognize the potential for performing key business processes (perhaps order fulfillment, purchasing or delivering customer support) over electronic linkages such as the Internet.

TECHNOLOGY PROVOCATEUR: The technology provocateur embeds IT into the business strategy. The technology provocateur works with senior business executives to bring IT and realities of the IT marketplace to bear on the formation of strategy for the business.

COACH: The coach teaches people to acquire the skillsets they will need for the future. Coaches have two basic responsibilities: teaching people how to learn, so that they can become self-sufficient, and providing team leaders with staff able to do the IT-related work of the business