PO1.1 IT Value Management

CobiT definition:

Work with the business to ensure that the enterprise portfolio of IT-enabled investments contains programmes that have solid
business cases. Recognise that there are mandatory, sustaining and discretionary investments that differ in complexity and degree of
freedom in allocating funds. IT processes should provide effective and efficient delivery of the IT components of programmes and
early warning of any deviations from plan, including cost, schedule or functionality, that might impact the expected outcomes of the
programmes. IT services should be executed against equitable and enforceable service level agreements (SLAs). Accountability for
achieving the benefits and controlling the costs should be clearly assigned and monitored. Establish fair, transparent, repeatable and
comparable evaluation of business cases, including financial worth, the risk of not delivering a capability and the risk of not
realising the expected benefits.

Bill says:

Pretty common sense – they are starting with an assumption that you may want to prove the worth of IT.  So within CobiT IT Governance Framework, IT Value Management is all about establishing that the things IT is working on are important and aligned with the goals of the business.  There are some words I have taken the liberty to bold above (not bold in the original text):

Portfolio – Does Senior management understand what you are working on?  Probably not.  It is critical to maintain a portfolio to keep them aware.

Solid Business Cases – How many of you say “yes” to everything the business asks for?  And regrets it?  Start saying “not yet” and help them craft a business case.

Accountability – Is this the project manager or the appropriate IT manager?  Is it the CIO?  Here, I would say it is the IT Manager.

Monitored – We are not good at monitoring.  We need a strong project portfolio dashboard.  Without it we depend a lot on email and it isn’t working.  Figure out how to properly monitor progress to goals.

So the first step in building the Strategic IT Plan is to properly account for the value IT is bringing to the business.

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