When preparing a new IT strategic plan for board approval, the MOST important consideration is to ensure the plan identifies:

The MOST important consideration for board approval of an IT strategic plan is ensuring it clearly defines roles and responsibilities linked to IT objectives. The board's primary function is oversight and ensuring accountability for achieving enterprise goals. By explicitly linking roles and responsibilities to strategic IT objectives, the plan demonstrates a clear governance structure, assigns ownership, and provides the board with assurance that the strategy is actionable and its execution can be effectively monitored. This directly supports the core governance principles of direction and performance monitoring, which are paramount at the board level.

B. specific resourcing requirements for identified IT projects.

This is too granular for a strategic plan. The board is concerned with the overall investment envelope and business value, not the detailed resource breakdown of individual projects.

C. frameworks that will be aligned to IT programs.

Frameworks (e.g., COBIT, ITIL) are operational means to an end. The board is more concerned with the strategic outcomes and alignment, not the specific methodologies used to achieve them.

D. implications of the strategy on the procurement process.

This is an operational detail. While important for execution, it is a subordinate component of resource management and not the primary strategic consideration for board-level approval.

1. ISACA

CGEIT Review Manual

8th Edition. Domain 2: IT Governance

Task 2.5

emphasizes the need to "Establish and maintain organizational structures

roles

and responsibilities for the governance of IT to support the achievement of enterprise objectives." This highlights that defining accountability is a foundational governance activity that must be reflected in strategic planning presented to the board.

2. ISACA

COBIT 2019 Framework: Governance and Management Objectives. The EDM01 governance objective

"Ensured Governance Framework Setting and Maintenance

" includes the key practice EDM01.02: "Direct the establishment of organisational structures...Define and establish the roles and responsibilities of the board..." This confirms that defining roles and responsibilities is a primary directive from the governing body (the board).

3. De Haes

S.

& Van Grembergen

W. (2015). Enterprise Governance of Information Technology: Achieving Alignment and Value

Featuring COBIT 5. Springer International Publishing. Chapter 3

"IT Governance Structures

Processes

and Relational Mechanisms

" discusses that for a board-level IT governance committee

a key responsibility is to "clarify...business and IT responsibilities" (p. 69). This underscores the board's focus on accountability structures within strategic plans. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14547-1