IS/IT Governance

Overview

Firms make significant investments in IT. In the IS/IT Governance course we will discuss how to govern IT to make sure that the IT investments contribute to organizational goals and strategies. Firms need to formally evaluate significant IT investments. IT investments are also risky, so firms need to consider the risk associated with the investments to appropriately evaluate the investment. We will discuss how to evaluate IT investments. Firms usually make multiple IT investments in a given year. In this course we will discuss how to evaluate a portfolio of IT investments. Firms need a mechanism to charge users for the IT investments made to encourage prudent consumption of IT resources. We will discuss different mechanisms for charging for IT that incents users to spend IT dollars wisely. Finally, IT investments are made to generate value for the firm. This requires that employees actually use the new IT systems that is developed. Thus, in the IS/IT Governance course we will discuss strategies to make sure that users use the new system so that the firm derives value from its IT investments.

Syllabus

IT Alignment

Firms make significant investments in IT. However, the returns from these investments are varied. In this module we will learn how to align IT investment decisions with the goals and strategies of the organization.

Evaluating IT Investments

In this module we will learn how to evaluate individual IT investments. Large IT investments face significant risks. In this module we will also learn about how to incorporate risk in the IT investment decision.

Evaluating IT Investments (Continued)

A firm may make multiple IT investments in a given year. In this module we will learn how to evaluate a portfolio of IT investments. In this module we will also learn about how to charge users for IT investments.

Change Management

Firms don’t derive value from IT investments, if users don’t adopt new IT systems. In this module we learn the different levers firms can use to increase the adoption of IT innovation. We will also learn how different IT systems may require different strategies for the implementation of IT systems.