The IT Governance Evangelist

The Executive Summer Session at the MIT Center for Information Research

Steve Romero — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:41:00 GMT

Much of my understanding and appreciation of IT Governance comes from MIT, where the Godfather and Godmother of IT Governance reside. Peter Weill and Jeanne Ross wrote the definitive book on IT Governance in 2004. I have had the chance to meet both of them and have been fortunate to work with Peter on a couple of occasions. I read as much of their MIT CISR research as possible and I was...

IT Governance Leadership Continuity

Steve Romero — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:28:00 GMT

My first day at the MIT CISR Sloan School of Management Summer Conference concluded with a presentation by June Drewry, the former CIO of Chubb and Son, which manages the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies. She presented on her experiences leading the IT Governance Journey at Chubb. I was delighted to see the word "journey." I often describe the IT Governance effort as...

Staying in Touch at MIT

Steve Romero — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 18:43:00 GMT

This week I attended the MIT Center for Information Systems Research (CISR) Sloan School of Management Summer Session in Cambridge for a full week of immersion into the subject of how to generate business value from IT. What a treat! Day 1 was focused on IT Governance and Business Operating Models, so you know I enjoyed it thoroughly. I was able to spend some time talking...

Brazil

Steve Romero — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:39:00 GMT

I just returned from a trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil where I was invited to speak about IT Governance at the CIAB FEBRABAN 2008 Conference. FEBRABAN is the Federation of Brazilian Banks and their annual CIAB conference is a monumental affair. I had never been to Brazil, I don't speak any Portuguese and I found getting a Brazilian travel visa to be incredibly time-consuming. I...

If they don’t know it’s broke, they won’t care that ITG can fix it

Steve Romero — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:20:00 GMT

This is the second blog inspired by a comment Rodney Sculthorpe made to my blog entitled "Who owns IT Governance, the Business or IT?" The first was entitled "How do you convince Executive Management of the merits of ITG?" In that post, I mentioned that in order to build support for ITG, you need to articulate and give evidence of the existing problems that ITG can...

Getting IT a Seat at the Business Leadership Table

Steve Romero — Wed, 21 May 2008 13:55:00 GMT

This blog entry was inspired by a comment posted by "Mike" to my recent post entitled "Who owns IT Governance, the Business or IT?" Mike asked about how you convince the IT department to "accept" its role as a business partner when IT Governance isn't adopted within the organization. He asked if there is a general rule or set of steps that companies can...

How do you convince Executive Management of the merits of ITG?

Steve Romero — Tue, 20 May 2008 13:47:00 GMT

This blog entry was inspired by a comment posted by Rodney Sculthorpe to my recent post entitled "Who owns IT Governance, the Business or IT?" Rodney wanted to know how to convince Executive Management of the merits of IT Governance. I am constantly asked how to go about convincing decision-makers. Whether it is IT Governance, Enterprise Architecture Governance or any other...

Who owns IT Governance, the Business or IT?

Steve Romero — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:18:00 GMT

Is IT Governance primarily a function of the business, or a function of IT? Many organizations are misled by the label. Sure, IT enables IT Governance, but the ITG discipline is a means for the business to govern IT, to ensure IT is aligned, delivering value and appropriately managing risk, resources and performance. The business must govern IT just as it must govern every other...

Straight Talk About Project Failures

Steve Romero — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:46:00 GMT

I recently recorded a podcast with Tim Jennings, Research Director with the Butler Group. The Butler group completed a study finding that 50% of IT projects fail. My brief discussion with Tim focuses on this issue and highlights best practices for guidance on implementing successful project management initiatives in IT organizations. I find the topic of IT project failure rates...

Manage IT Governance Components in an IT Governance Context

Steve Romero — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 19:45:00 GMT

I just finished studying an analyst report entitled "The State of IT Governance In North American and European Enterprises." You already know that almost anything about IT Governance excites me, with an analyst report about my favorite topic high on the list. But, while there was certainly a lot of compelling data in the report, I was left wanting more. The study...

Is this news?

Steve Romero — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 19:40:00 GMT

I just read an article in the Wall Street Journal entitled "How to Tap IT's Hidden Potential." The article talked about the "wall" between the IT Department and "everything else" and says "That wall has to go." I ask you, is this news? This article is a wake-up call reminding me, yet again, that we have a long way to go before IT is...

A New Way to Look at Project Managers

Steve Romero — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 12:11:00 GMT

I'm always appreciative when someone prods me to look at something familiar in a new way. Therefore, I extend my thanks to Mark Perry for his Gantthead blog posting entitled "PMO Tips: Five A+ habits PMO managers like project managers to have." I've analyzed the objectives, skills, responsibilities and education requirements of a project manager extensively, but I have...

When I say, “IT and Business Alignment” do you say, “IT Governance”?

Steve Romero — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 13:37:00 GMT

A recent CIO Magazine CIO2CIO Program Study reported the detailed findings of a Business Service Management survey conducted by IDG Research Services. It provided insight into the advent and role of service management in IT organizations worldwide, but there were two items that I found particularly interesting. The first was regarding the "Importance of IT Priorities in the...

IT Governance and Corporate Boards

Steve Romero — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:42:00 GMT

I learned about an interesting survey in a CBR article entitled "Corporate boards not serious about IT Governance measures: survey." The study was conducted by IT Governance Ltd, a UK company founded by Alan Calder, an internationally recognized ITG authority and author of numerous books on the topic. The survey results were disturbing-though not surprising. At least to me....

The Enlightened IT Manager

Steve Romero — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 16:59:00 GMT

Should IT managers become acquainted with formal project management methodologies? I was recently asked this question in an interview for an Insurance Networking News article entitled "IT Project Management Keeps the Business on Track." I answered yes, of course. But that is just tip the of the IT manager's education iceberg. For years I have provided incentives...