How do you assess and improve IT consulting project governance with COBIT?

1 What is COBIT and how does it relate to project governance?

COBIT is a comprehensive and holistic framework that helps organizations align their IT goals with their business goals, optimize their IT resources, and manage their IT risks. COBIT consists of five domains: governance, alignment, delivery, support, and monitoring. Each domain contains a set of processes, activities, and practices that define the objectives, inputs, outputs, and controls for IT management and governance. COBIT also provides maturity models, performance indicators, and audit guidelines for each domain and process. By applying COBIT to your IT consulting projects, you can establish a clear and consistent governance structure that covers all aspects of the project life cycle, from initiation to closure.

2 How do you assess your current project governance with COBIT?

Before you can improve your project governance with COBIT, you need to assess your current situation and identify the gaps and weaknesses in your governance practices. To do this, you can use the COBIT maturity models, which are based on six levels of capability, from non-existent to optimized. The maturity models help you measure the extent to which your project governance processes are defined, implemented, monitored, and improved. You can use the COBIT maturity models to assess each of the five domains and the relevant processes for your project. For example, you can evaluate how well you are governing your project scope, quality, budget, risk, communication, and stakeholder management. You can also compare your results with the industry benchmarks and best practices to see how you stack up against your peers and competitors.

3 How do you improve your project governance with COBIT?

Once you have assessed your current project governance with COBIT, you can use the framework to plan and implement improvements. You can prioritize the areas that need the most attention and improvement, based on your project goals, requirements, and constraints. You can also use the COBIT processes, activities, and practices to define and document the roles, rules, and responsibilities for your project governance. For example, you can clarify the authority and accountability of the project sponsor, manager, team, and stakeholders. You can also establish the standards, procedures, and tools for managing and reporting on the project performance, issues, and changes. You can also use the COBIT controls, indicators, and audit guidelines to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of your project governance. For example, you can track and measure the project progress, quality, cost, risk, and value. You can also conduct regular reviews and audits to verify the compliance and alignment of your project governance with the COBIT framework and the business objectives.

4 What are the benefits of improving your project governance with COBIT?

COBIT can bring many benefits to your IT consulting projects and organization, such as improved alignment of goals and outcomes with the business strategy, enhanced delivery of value and benefits to stakeholders, increased efficiency and effectiveness of processes and resources, reduced risk and uncertainty of performance and results, increased trust and confidence of sponsors, managers, team, and stakeholders, as well as improved compliance and accountability of governance and management.

5 How do you maintain and update your project governance with COBIT?

Maintaining and updating your project governance with COBIT is a continuous process of learning, adapting, and improving. To do this, you need to stay up-to-date with the latest developments and changes in the COBIT framework and the IT industry. Additionally, it's important to review and update your project governance processes, activities, and practices regularly. Furthermore, you should incorporate feedback from your project stakeholders and customers, as well as best practices and lessons learned from your project experience and other sources. Finally, don't forget to celebrate and reward your project governance achievements and successes.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?