Information Technology Governance is part of an organisation's obligation to comply with policy; the way to achieve objectives put in place by the board of directors. This places an onus on senior managers to monitor and report how well and fairly their organisation performs (and transforms) Information Technology. The ITG Information System approach is comprised of software components designed to work with a collection of structures, processes and data flows to seamlessly capture relevant IT activity. The data flow's design structure is flexible and uses, for example, XSD info Average Server Load (318005)
DTD
<!ELEMENT aveLoad (ipAddress, aveloadValue, timeStamp)>
<!ELEMENT ipAddress (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT aveLoadValue (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT timeStamp (#PCDATA)>
Schema <xs:element name="aveLoad">
<xs:complexType>
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="ipAddress" type="xs:ipAddress"/>
<xs:element name="aveLoadValue" type="xs:percent"/ >
<xs:element name="timeStamp" type="xs:dateTime"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:element>
XML <aveLoad>
<ipAddress>41.80.121.09 </ipAddress>
<aveLoadValue>23.98 </aveLoadValue>
<timeStamp>1409405586 </timeStamp>
</aveLoad>
the W3C XML schema definition language. This makes it possible to encode wide ranging governance metrics along with their associated rules in a standard data interchange format.
ITech Early Warning Monitor Measurement Groups. Each process group in the table below displays an associated brief drop down description on 'mouseover'. More detailed (pdf) report examples may be viewed by clicking any flashing process (denoting sub optimal performance or process under investigation). In this example the current processes under investigation are HP's latest Project Portfolio Management offering and CCL's audit approach Cost Benefit Profiling.

Status on                           
    Demand Case Change Case     Service Case Value Case
info⇓ Business Variation Taking advantage of new business opportunities?

Performance Indicators

% of total Demand effort
% of total effort
% internal innovation
% external innovation
Total EM innovations considered.
info⇓ Requirement DefinitionCan the requirements prepared by the business be technically developed and tested? info⇓ Defect ManagementAre defects impacting the business? info⇓ Cost AnalysisDo actual costs fall outside tolerated indicative cost boundaries?
Emerging Technology Status Quo or Competitive Advantage?

Performance Indicators

% of total Demand effort
% of total effort
% internal innovation
% external innovation
Total ET innovations considered. Click to see the borderline example.
Solution DesignIs the change still worth doing? Service Level Is the optimum IT service being provided to the business? In this case no - click to see the example. Cost Benefit AnalysisHas business value delivered been mapped on to IT system configuration?
Development AgendaIs the change worth doing?

Performance Indicators
% of total considered
EM total
ET total
Level 2 Feasibility Has the optimum solution been chosen from all alternative solutions? Have the reasons for selection been documented? Build EfficiencyHow many configuration trials succeeded/failed? Have modification specifications and corresponding outcome been added to a knowledge base. Estimation AnalysisHave all incidences of estimated and actual value disparity been documented and catagorised, together with analysis and conclusions, in the knowledge database?
Strategic AlignmentAre levels of failure and downtime documented?

Performance Indicators
Platform mean maintenance interval
Platform mean maintenance period
Total planned outage time.

Development Have appropriate standards (including security and compliance) been applied to code development and its associated testing? Has this been verified and made available for audit? Capacity Planning How many servers and networks are running below the maximum recommended u"+uti+ "? Earned Value Analysis  
Resource PlanningAre proposed changes aligned for optimum business value?

Performance Indicators
Mean time spent per change (band A, band B, band C)
Total changes approved
Total changes rejected

Configuration VerificationHave appropriate standards been followed for functional and technical testing? Is the configuration management System (CMS) operational and is it effective e.g. is the number of man hours lost due to misconfiguration within acceptable limits? Capacity Utilisation Is there enough headroom for forecast growth?
Level 1 Feasibility Are the appropriate skills available when they are needed?

Performance Indicators
% positions secured on time
% inappropriate resource
% positions not filled
Risk ManagementIs the mitigation process preventing negative impact on strategic goals?
Portfolio ManagementIs the optimum mix of change requests being delivered on time?

Performance Indicators
% of priority changes delivered on time
Mean delivery delay time
Research agenda cancellation rate

Click to see the work in progress example.
ImplementationCan service be assured?
Technical Overview Technical Overview: The target performance level (for each key indicator in the dropdown matrix below) is carefully estimated and input to the system using the performance centre. Installations, modified with data capture software, produce a continuous stream of actual performance metrics. Target and actual data is stored in a database and relevant IT behavioural issues are reported to authorised users as they occur. Click the highlighted (flashing red and blue) text in the table below for example reports. The GRC Process Model identified below documents objectives, processes and software modules whereas the GRC Entity Model defines objects of interest, their relationships, associated attributes and attribute properties.
The solution above doesn't only focus on reporting how well IT complies with directives; additionally, using GRC platforms, it systematically measures IT performance and consequently the efficacy of governance strategy. The flexible configuration allows a selection of the most appropriate IT areas and metrics however, some modification to existing governance processes is needed to capture the required metrics. Different organisations may optimise their solution as required cutting down on unnecessary red tape and so improving operational viabilty. Any existing governance processes should continue with minimal disruption. Those who do not already have a suitable governance framework will benefit from looking at an itgis selection of publications>> made available by leading IT Governance authorities.

© Copyright 1980 - Paul A. E. Sheridan  info Intellectual Rights Notice - using any discovery, concept, or idea, whether or not patentable, resulting from information in this document including but not limited to processes, methods, software, tangible research products, formulas and techniques, improvements thereto, and know-how related thereto is strictly prohibited without reference to Advanced Digital Transformation Ltd.