IS Governance and Strategy

Unit Code:HIT8186

Credit Points	Duration	Contact Hours	Campus	Prerequisite	Corequisite
12.5 Credit Points	1 Semester	36 Hours	Hawthorn	Nil	Nil

Credit Points

Duration

Contact Hours

Campus

Prerequisite

Corequisite

12.5 Credit Points

1 Semester

36 Hours

Hawthorn

Nil

Related Course/s:

A unit of study in the Master of Technology (Information Technology), Master of Information Technology, Master of Information Systems Management, Master of Information Technology (Professional Computing), Master of Information Systems Management/ Master of Business Administration and .

Aims & Objectives:

Students who complete this unit of study should be able to:

Demonstrate a sound understanding of the concepts of IS governance and its contribution to the delivery of value from IS/IT investments.
Demonstrate a sound understanding of the concepts of strategic IS planning, the importance of linking IS planning to business strategy and objectives, and its contribution to the delivery of value from IS/IT investments.
Demonstrate familiarity with and understanding of IS governance frameworks, methods and mechanisms, including COBIT.
Demonstrate familiarity with and understanding of approaches and methods for IS planning.
Analyse business cases, identify key IS governance & strategy issues, understand the implications of various recommendations, and make recommendations on addressing these issues in a professional manner for the benefit of the organisation.
Understand the organisational benefits of effective IS governance & strategy, and be able to be prepare a case demonstrating the benefits of adopting IS governance in a specific organisational context and of more effectively utilising the IT resource.
Demonstrate an understanding of the resource based view of IS strategy, including the dynamic capabilities perspective of the development of organisation-wide IS capabilities.

Teaching Methods:

Lectures and seminars, tutorials and group work

Assessment:

Individual and group assignments, Presentation

Generic Skills Outcomes:

The graduate attributes which relate to this unit of study help to produce graduates who:

Are capable in their chosen professional areas.
Are adaptable and manage change.
Operate effectively in work and community situations.
Are aware of environments.

Content:

Understanding structures, processes, and relational mechanisms for effective IS governance.
Relating business and IS maxims and their contribution to effective IS governance.
IT governance approaches (ITIL, COBIT), governance tools, mechanisms and processes, benefits & issues.
Implementing structures and processes to ensure effective decision making with respect to IS and IT.
Establishing metrics for governance.
Building a business case for the adoption and implementation of effective IS governance.
Understanding business strategy, and its impact on IS strategy.
The notion of alignment, concept of dynamic alignment.
Implementing strategic IS planning, managing the IS planning process.
Planning the IS application portfolio, balancing the IUS portfolio against current and future business needs and objectives, while ensuring the development of a flexible and robust IS/IT infrastructure.
The link between strategic IS planning, IS evaluation and IS benefits realisation.
Prioritising proposed investments in IS/IT, establishing policies.
Resource based view of IS planning: developing, managing and exploiting organisation–wide IS capabilities, dynamic capabilities perspective.

Reading Materials:

Broadbent, M & Kitsis, E (2005) The New CIO Leader: Setting the Agenda and Delivering Results. Harvard Business School Press, Boston.
Benson, RJ, Bugnitz, TL & Walton, WB (2004) From Business Strategy to IT Action: Right Decisions for a Better Bottom Line. Wiley, New Jersey.

Van Grembergen, W (2004) Strategies foe Effective IT Governance. Idea Group Publishing, Hershey.

Weill, P & Ross, JW (2004) IT Governance: How Top Performers Manage IT decision Rights for Superior Performance. Harvard Business School Press, Boston.

COBIT: Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology. IT Governance Institute. www.itgi.org

Office of Government Commerce (2001) Service Delivery: ITIL The Key to Managing IT Services. The Stationary Office, UK.

Ward, J & Peppard, J (2002) Strategic Planning for Information Systems, 3rd edn. Wiley, Chichester.