Who Is Involved in IT Governance?

IT governance occurs at different layers. Team leaders report to and receive direction from their managers; managers report up to the executive; and the executive reports to the board of directors. Reporting includes descriptions of any activities that show signs of deviating from targeted objectives. Each level, when reporting these deviations, should include recommendations for action that must be endorsed by the governing level above. Clearly the effectiveness of this layered approach depends on successful cascading of strategy and goals down into the organization.

Stakeholders, too, play a part in IT governance. At the heart of the governance responsibilities of setting strategy, managing risks, allocating resources, delivering value and measuring performance, are the stakeholder values, which drive the enterprise and IT strategy.  ("Stakeholder" indicates anyone who has either a responsibility for or an expectation from the enterprise's IT, e.g., shareholders, directors, executives, business and technology management, users, employees, governments, suppliers, customers and the public.) Sustaining the current business and growing into new business models are certainly stakeholder expectations and can be achieved only with adequate governance of the enterprise's IT infrastructure.

For a complete overview of the role of IT governance in an enterprise, the responsibilities of boards of directors and executive management for IT governance, and tools to begin implementing effective IT governance, see the IT Governance Institute's publication, Board Briefing on IT Governance, 2nd Edition— Available in English, Japanese and German Downloads or Purchase the Book.