CITO juggling ICT on one foot, on a wall

Information & Communication Technology

Market Research into perceptions about the governance of Information and Communication Technologies.

The IT Governance working group of Standards Australia Committee IT-030-01 is undertaking market research, to inform the development of an Australian Standard for the Governance of Information and Communications Technologies.

Marghanita da Cruz, a member of the working group, is co-ordinating this research.

AS8015 Australian Standard for Corporate Governance of ICT was published in January 2005

Background

Standards Australia has received a call for the development of new Standards in the field of IT Management and Governance. This area covers a broad range of topics, some of which are covered in part by existing Australian standards and publications by other bodies. The aim of this project is to develop Standards that incorporate best practice in the areas of information technology projects and management, including project management, contract conditions, advice for boards and senior management.

In Sydney on 24th September 2002, the working group decided that a qualitative survey of a few CIOs and CEOs would help to gauge the level of interest and position of an "IT Governance" Standard. A set of questions would be identified, as a basis for members of the working group to informally survey CEOs and CIOs in their personal networks.

At a subsequent meeting of the working group, in Canberra on 30th September 2002, the initial reactions to the market research were discussed and it was generally agreed that the "Governance of Information and Communications Technologies" would be a more accurate reflection of the emerging scope of the standard. The questionnaire was revised accordingly.

The Standards Australia URL for this work is https://committees.standards.com.au/COMMITTEES/IT-030-01/

Methodology

Members of the working group have been invited to informally interview members of their personal networks to:

  1. gauge the level of interest in a standard;
  2. seed interest in a standard; and
  3. scope and position a standard.

The questions below are provided as a guide for face-to-face or telephone discussions with CIOs, CEOs and board members.

In undertaking this research, it has been noted that governance is commercially sensitive and confidentiality needs to be preserved. To this end, findings will be reported and collated in a general way - without identification of the specific source/s of the information.

Findings are being collected via emails to the Standards Australia IT-GOV mailing list or marghanita@ramin.com.au. The results will be reported to the working group at the end of November 2002.

Suggested Questions.

Company/Person Profile

  1. Type of organisation (Private, Government, listed on the Australian or a Foreign Stock Exchange):
  2. Do you have a parent organisation or subsidiaries? If yes, are they international, national (local?), or both?
  3. What is the size of your organisation ((<200, 200-500, 500-1000, 1000-5000, 5000 + people)?
  4. Which is your gross turnover (<$10, $10-50, $50-100, $100-500, $500+million.)?
  5. Is your enterprise a supplier of ICT products or services?
  6. What is your role in the enterprise and where does this fit into the organisational structure?
  7. Who is responsible for Information and Communication Technologies within your enterprise?

Perception of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

  1. Do you consider ICT, to be an enabler or a cost to your business?
  2. How easily are you able to engage the right people and get ICT in place to meet your business needs?
  3. Do you use any particular metrics to measure the quality, risk and effectiveness of your ICT services?
  4. Are there areas of ICT that cause you or your enterprise specific concern?

    Examples: disaster recovery, late/over-budget projects, responsiveness to the business demands, cost, ROI, complexity, skill shortages, internal/external electronic transactions, other e-business issues, risks arising from your customer or suppliers use of ICT, risks from connection to the Internet, ability of senior management to stay abreast of issues relating to Information and Communications Technologies, Privacy, SPAM. use of email, other.

Governance of ICT

  1. Do you have any concerns about the responsibilities for the control of ICT?
  2. Who sets the strategies covering ICT within your enterprise?
  3. How well do these strategies align with corporate strategy?
  4. Who sets out the policies related to the implementation and use of ICT?
  5. How comprehensive are they?
  6. Are they widely understood and followed?
  7. Is the Governance of ICT currently a significant issue for the Board? Could it become so in the future?
  8. How much consideration does the Board give to Governance concerns, in general?
  9. What would you like to see included in an Australian standard for the Governance of ICT?
  10. What is the relationship between the executive Board and project control group(s) in relation to ICT?
  11. What are the budget, reporting and funding cycles, for the implementation of ICT?
  12. What information would assist in implementing effective Governance in this area?
  13. How would your organisation implement a Governance standard - use consultants, create a new role, or assign the responsibility to an existing role (if so, which role)?
  14. Has your organisation adopted any particular ICT Management standards (eg. COBIT, ITIL, your own, whole of government program)?
  15. Are there any business associations or professional bodies that you would turn to for assistance / guidance on ICT Governance matters?

For more information or to participate in the survey contact Marghanita da Cruz, Principal Consultant, Ramin Communications. Email: marghanita@ramin.com.au.

Update:AS8015 Australian Standard for Corporate Governance of ICT was published in January 2005 and adopted as ISO/IEC 38500 in 2008

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