Designing and developing an IT Governance Project

Problem Definition Phase

For this course, you will design and develop a project in three phases: Problem Definition, Solution Design, and Implementation Plan. These three project components are due in Week 3, Week 6, and Week 8, respectively. The complete project should be a single Microsoft-compatible document, including deliverables of all three phases. Any supporting files (spreadsheets, videos, etc.) should be submitted along with the deliverables.

 

This project provides you with a framework for discovery and skill building. Strive to be extremely clear about the problem you are trying to solve, or the opportunity you are trying to support.

Select a problem related to IT Governance that you want to explore and solve. The Problem Definition deliverable is a one-to-two page document that clearly states, “what the problem is” and “what I plan to do about it”. This deliverable is due in Week 3.

Here are some ideas to get you started.

1. Travel into the past and fix something that was broken. 
2. Travel into the future and be proactive (e.g., will IoT get it right?). 
3. Take an organization and design a process to improve their bottom line through IT Governance (hint: get them to stop doing the wrong things.)  
4. Suggest where IT Governance is not getting the job done (e.g., does IT Governance really prevent crimes?) and how to fix that. 
5. Design a general process to align IT with corporate goals and government regulations. 
6.  Look at the syllabus and your textbook for more ideas.

One suggestion is to select a problem to solve, conduct a preliminary research to see if the material you need is available, and repeat this process until you find a realistic starting point.

Research and design the solution(s) to address the problem that’s identified and defined in the Problem Definition deliverable in Week 3. This is the continuation of the Problem Definition phase, so the solution design should be appended to the previous deliverable. This deliverable is due in Week 6.

The design should clearly explain how to address the identified problem. It should also be forward-thinking, proactive, and realistic.
Here are the key components of the Solution Design deliverable.

1. Define and design appropriate policies, procedures, regulations, agreements, products, and services that will effectively solve the IT Governance problem or support an opportunity.

2.Analyze the risk exposure of not taking any action to address the compliance problem.

3. Suggest what should happen after the design is implemented (i.e., a follow-up to the solution design)

4. Provide cost and impact estimates where available. Estimate the labor hours required to implement the design (e.g., the average IT Governance consultation hourly rate is $300)

Describe how to make your solution design a reality within the target organization. Addressed to middle and senior management, the implementation plan builds upon the prior two phases and should be appended to the previous deliverable. This deliverable is due in Week 8.
The plan is a road map to improve the state of IT Governance. It typically describes “what happens”, “when it happens”, “who makes it happen”, and the proof that the design works. A successful completion of the Implementation Plan should suggest that the organization has now transitioned to a better compliance and IT Governance posture.