Which of the following activities MUST be completed before developing an IT strategic plan?

The fundamental purpose of an IT strategic plan is to ensure that IT capabilities support and enable the enterprise's objectives. The enterprise business plan is the primary document that articulates these objectives, goals, and strategic direction. Therefore, a comprehensive review and understanding of the business plan is the mandatory first step in developing an aligned and effective IT strategy. This ensures that IT investments and initiatives are directly linked to business value and outcomes, which is a core principle of the Governance of Enterprise IT (GEIT). Without this foundational input, the IT plan would lack direction and fail to support the enterprise.

B. Aligning the vision with business processes is a broader enterprise-level activity. The IT strategic plan is informed by the outcome of this alignment (the business plan), not the activity itself.
C. An enterprise architecture (EA) framework is typically developed to help execute the strategy. The strategy must be defined first before the architectural blueprint for its implementation can be created.
D. Reviewing risk tolerance is a critical input for strategic planning, but it is one of many components that shape the overall enterprise business plan, which is the most comprehensive starting point.

1. ISACA, CGEIT Review Manual, 8th Edition, 2020. In Domain 2: IT Resources, Section 2.1 Strategic Planning and Enterprise Architecture, it is stated, "The starting point for any IT strategic plan is the enterprise’s mission, goals and strategies." These elements are formally documented in the enterprise business plan.

2. ISACA, COBIT 2019 Framework: Governance and Management Objectives, 2018. The management objective APO02 Manage Strategy explicitly states that the process begins with understanding the "enterprise strategy and current environment" to provide context for the IT strategy. (APO02.01).

3. ISACA, CGEIT Review Manual, 8th Edition, 2020. Domain 1: Governance of Enterprise IT, Task Statement 1.3, "Ensure that the IT strategy is aligned with the enterprise strategy," directly implies that the enterprise strategy must be known and understood before the IT strategy can be created and aligned.