Question 663 - CISA discussion

An IT framework for alignment between IT and business objectives is a set of principles, guidelines, and practices that help an organization to ensure that its IT investments support its strategic goals, deliver value, manage risks, and optimize resources. One of the benefits of implementing such a framework is that it enables an effective IT portfolio management, which is the process of selecting, prioritizing, monitoring, and evaluating the IT projects and services that comprise the IT portfolio. An IT portfolio is a collection of IT assets, such as applications, infrastructure, data, and capabilities, that are aligned with the business needs and objectives. An IT portfolio management helps an organization to achieve the following outcomes:

Align the IT portfolio with the business strategy and vision

Balance the IT portfolio among different types of investments, such as innovation, growth, maintenance, and compliance

Optimize the IT portfolio performance, value, and risk

Enhance the IT portfolio decision-making and governance

Improve the IT portfolio communication and transparency

Therefore, an inadequate IT portfolio management is a major concern that can be addressed by implementing an IT framework for alignment between IT and business objectives. An inadequate IT portfolio management can result in the following issues:

Misalignment of the IT portfolio with the business needs and expectations

Imbalance of the IT portfolio among competing demands and priorities

Suboptimal use of the IT resources and capabilities

Lack of visibility and accountability of the IT portfolio outcomes and impacts

Poor communication and collaboration among the IT portfolio stakeholders

The other possible options are:

Inaccurate business impact analysis (BIA): A BIA is a process of identifying and assessing the potential effects of a disruption or disaster on the critical business functions and processes. A BIA helps an organization to determine the recovery priorities, objectives, and strategies for its business continuity plan. A BIA is not directly related to an IT framework for alignment between IT and business objectives, although it may use some inputs from the IT portfolio management. Therefore, an inaccurate BIA is not a concern that can be effectively addressed by implementing an IT framework for alignment between IT and business objectives.

Inadequate IT change management practices: IT change management is a process of controlling and managing the changes to the IT environment, such as hardware, software, configuration, or documentation. IT change management helps an organization to minimize the risks and disruptions caused by the changes, ensure the quality and consistency of the changes, and align the changes with the business requirements. IT change management is not directly related to an IT framework for alignment between IT and business objectives, although it may support some aspects of the IT portfolio management. Therefore, inadequate IT change management practices are not a concern that can be effectively addressed by implementing an IT framework for alignment between IT and business objectives.

Lack of a benchmark analysis: A benchmark analysis is a process of comparing an organization's performance, processes, or practices with those of other organizations or industry standards. A benchmark analysis helps an organization to identify its strengths and weaknesses, set realistic goals and targets, and implement best practices for improvement. A benchmark analysis is not directly related to an IT framework for alignment between IT and business objectives, although it may provide some insights for the IT portfolio management.Therefore, lack of a benchmark analysis is not a concern that can be effectively addressed by implementing an IT framework for alignment between IT and business objectives.Reference:1: What is Portfolio Management?| Smartsheet2: What Is Portfolio Management?- Definition from Techopedia3: What Is Project Portfolio Management (PPM)?| ProjectManager.com4: What Is Business Impact Analysis?| Smartsheet5: What Is Change Management?- Definition from Techopedia6: Benchmarking - Wikipedia