When refining the scope of a new IT governance system during the design phase, which of the following is the MOST significant driver to be considered?

The sourcing model for IT, such as choosing between cloud versus on-premises services, is a critical design factor in the COBIT 2019 framework. This decision fundamentally alters the risk profile and the relevance of specific governance and management objectives. For instance, a cloud-based model significantly increases the importance of supplier management (APO10) and service agreement management, while diminishing the focus on managing physical infrastructure (BAI09). This shift has a more profound and direct impact on refining the scope of the governance system compared to enterprise size or location, as it changes what needs to be governed, not just the scale or specific compliance constraints.

A. The size of the enterprise: While enterprise size is a COBIT 2019 design factor, it primarily influences the scale, formality, and complexity of governance structures and processes, rather than fundamentally changing which objectives are prioritized.
B. National or international locations: This consideration is an input to the "Compliance Requirements" design factor. It influences specific controls and legal adherence but is less foundational to the overall scope than the IT sourcing model. ---

1. ISACA, COBIT® 2019 Design Guide: Designing an Information and Governance Solution, 2018. Chapter 3, Section 3.5.8, "Design Factor 8: Sourcing Model for IT," p. 40. This section explicitly states, "The sourcing model influences the relative importance of some processes... For example, in the case of outsourcing (including cloud), the Supplier Management process will be very important."

2. ISACA, COBIT® 2019 Design Guide: Designing an Information and Governance Solution, 2018. Chapter 3, Section 3.4.3, "Step 3: Refine the Scope of the Governance System," p. 31. This section lists the design factors used in the refinement step, including both "Sourcing model for IT" and "Enterprise size," but the former's impact on process selection is more significant.

3. ISACA, COBIT® 2019 Design Guide: Designing an Information and Governance Solution, 2018. Chapter 3, Section 3.5.11, "Design Factor 11: Enterprise Size," p. 42. This section describes the impact of enterprise size, noting that for smaller enterprises, "some processes may be less important, and some governance structures may not be required." This confirms its role in scaling rather than fundamentally redefining scope.