IT GOVERNANCE DOs AND DON'Ts

by Len Tenner

It seems like everyone's talking about IT governance. Whenever I meet fellow IT executives, the topic of IT governance inevitably seems to come up. Everyone understands what IT governance is, but many are struggling with how to make IT governance work. How do you implement an effective IT governance process at your organization, especially given the dynamic, complex nature of your technology, application development processes, and enterprise architecture?

Smart executives I know are using an effective mix of technology, best practices, and sound management skills to implement real, meaningful IT governance processes at their companies.

Do This, Not That

If IT governance is a hot topic in your organization, here's a list of six dos and don'ts to consider.

DO set realistic goals and objectives for your company. DON'T merely copy a successful organization's governance style. After all, that company may have different goals, objectives, and corporate culture than yours. They might be after growth, while you're focusing on profitability.

DO create relevance between business objectives, IT governance processes, and project implementation goals. DON'T make irrelevant, ivory-tower demands. People will find a way around them. IT governance processes must start at the highest business level and extend all the way down into the project execution phase -- in a relevant, meaningful manner.

DO make it repeatable. DON'T just "govern once" at your organization. Approach IT governance as an investment in repeatable, reusable processes; it's a mindset that extends from management through planning and into development.

DO measure results. DON'T underestimate the importance of setting business controls and auditing. A full-cycle IT governance approach ensures that the money invested produces the desired result.

DO keep it reasonable. DON'T overengineer your approach to IT governance. Every organization has its strengths and weaknesses. Start where your processes are strong and grow from there. Start today.

DO the right things, the right way, at the right time. DON'T focus on only one "right" thing. It's simply not enough just to focus on doing the "right" things, if they're not carried out in the "right" way or in the "right" timeframe.

Get These Benefits

When you follow this advice, you reduce the risk of poor IT investments, eliminate redundancy in your application portfolio, and lower the total cost of ownership for your critical applications. Your organization is simply more agile and better able to process changing business requirements mid-project -- without overextending the budget or the timeline.

It's the "IT" in IT Governance that Makes It Possible

It's much easier to implement solid IT governance processes than you might think. And it's the "IT" part that actually makes it easier. Once you start thinking about IT as an asset instead of an expense, you can actually use any number of software tools to communicate architecture and policies, enforce rules, and track results. In effect, the medium becomes the message.

And when you take the mystery out of how IT is managed and make it transparent and traceable to everyone within the organization, solving the "how" of IT governance can be a very straightforward thing indeed.

-- Len Tenner