IT Strategic Alignment with ITIL 4

Many IT strategies are lists of projects rather than choices. Priorities are set by whoever asks loudest, the service portfolio grows without review, and business leaders see IT as a cost centre. At the same time, digital initiatives are launched outside IT with little architecture, risk or service thinking. Without a shared view of value, IT and the business cannot agree what to fund, what to stop and how success will be measured.

This programme uses ITIL 4 as a management framework for alignment rather than a set of processes. It moves through five stages: understanding how value is co-created with stakeholders, setting direction through vision, strategy and governance, turning strategy into a portfolio and plans, organising services and value streams to deliver it, and measuring and improving performance.

Built on recognised practice. The programme references the ITIL 4 service value system, guiding principles and continual improvement model, the ideas in the ITIL 4 Direct, Plan and Improve and Digital and IT Strategy guidance, COBIT for governance of enterprise information and technology, ISO/IEC 38500 on governance of IT and the balanced scorecard approach to performance. The newer ITIL version 5 guidance is noted where it builds on the same ideas.

Decisions this programme improves. Which services and initiatives to invest in, keep or retire; how to set IT priorities that business leaders support; where decision authority should sit between IT and the business; how to frame the case for digital investment; and which measures show that IT is creating value.

How it is delivered. Twenty hours across five sessions, built around one running case: a public-sector organisation whose IT function must support a new national digital services agenda with a constrained budget. Participants produce a value map, a strategic direction statement, a prioritised portfolio and a measurement framework.

In-house option. For organisations, the programme can be tailored to your own strategy, service portfolio and governance structure, and delivered to IT and business leaders together.

Who Should Attend

IT leadership: CIOs, IT directors and heads of IT functions

Digital and transformation: digital transformation leads and strategy managers

Service management: heads of service management and senior process owners

Portfolio and architecture: portfolio managers, PMO heads and enterprise architects

Business relationship managers and business leaders who sponsor IT investment

Objectives

Explain how the ITIL 4 service value system supports strategic alignment

Map stakeholders and the value, outcomes, costs and risks that matter to each

Assess the current alignment between IT capabilities and organisational goals

Formulate an IT or digital strategy that states clear choices and priorities

Define governance and decision rights for IT investment and risk

Prioritise the service and project portfolio using value and risk criteria

Design value streams that connect demand to delivered outcomes

Build a measurement framework that links IT performance to organisational results

Apply the continual improvement model to strategic initiatives

Communicate strategy and lead change across IT and the business

Course Outline

Value and Alignment: Why IT and the Business Drift Apart

Symptoms and causes of poor strategic alignment
Value co-creation, outcomes, costs and risks in ITIL 4
Stakeholder mapping and value propositions
The service value system and the four dimensions of service management
ITIL 4 guiding principles as decision rules
Assessing current alignment and maturity

Setting Direction: Strategy and Governance

From organisational strategy to IT and digital strategy
Environmental analysis and strategic positioning of IT
Governance of IT: principles from ISO/IEC 38500 and COBIT
Decision rights, policies and controls
Risk management and risk appetite in IT decisions
Sustainability and responsible technology in strategy

From Strategy to Portfolio and Plans

Service portfolio and project portfolio management
Investment prioritisation and business cases
Roadmaps and planning horizons
Balancing innovation, run and change demands
Financial management of IT services and cost transparency
Architecture as a tool for alignment

Organising Services and Value Streams

Designing value streams from demand to value
Service offerings, service levels and customer journeys
Operating models and sourcing decisions, including cloud
Collaboration between IT, digital and business units
Data and emerging technologies, including AI, as strategic options
Workforce, skills and culture

Measuring Value and Improving Continually

Linking IT measures to organisational objectives
Balanced scorecard and key performance indicators for IT
The ITIL 4 continual improvement model
Reviewing and adjusting strategy
Communicating strategy and leading change
Action plan: strengthening IT alignment in your organisation

Competencies

Strategic alignment of IT with organisational goals

Application of the ITIL 4 service value system

IT and digital strategy formulation

Governance of IT and decision rights

Service and investment portfolio prioritisation

Value stream design

IT performance measurement and balanced scorecard

Continual improvement of strategic initiatives

Stakeholder communication and change leadership

Kuala Lumpur

Explore professional training in Kuala Lumpur across Elite Academy’s full range of disciplines. The city’s position as a well-established Southeast Asian business hub with strong international connectivity makes it an attractive international setting for scheduled courses and programs arranged to your preferred topic and dates. Elite Academy can deliver its full range of professional training programs in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Because the city is a well-established Southeast Asian business hub with strong international connectivity, it provides a strong international environment for participants from organizations as well as individual professionals. The courses shown on this page represent the programs currently scheduled in Kuala Lumpur; they do not limit what can be delivered there. If your preferred course or date is not listed, you can request any program from our portfolio to be arranged in Kuala Lumpur, subject to scheduling and delivery requirements.