IDENTIFICATION OF MECHANISMS TO SUPPORT THE OBJECTIVES AND PRINCIPLES OF IT GOVERNANCE ACCORDING TO A PRACTITIONERS’ PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

IT Governance (ITG) mechanisms make tangible the high-level definitions on how the IT function of an organization must operate, in order to enable its practical application. The objective of this study is to identify mechanisms that can meet the objectives and principles of ITG. The study was based on literature review and organizational practices identified by means of data collection from Brazilian IT professionals. The motivation for this study is the importance of the obtainment of a list of ITG mechanisms using the same granularity. The study has a qualitative approach and was conducted through the analysis of publications, an electronic questionnaire and interviews using a semi-structured script. A set of 105 ITG mechanisms was identified by analyzing 13 publications. These mechanisms were grouped by similarity, reaching 46 mechanisms, which formed the basis for a survey of 26 professionals, especially CIOs and ITG analysts. Semi-structured interviews with 14 professionals were used to identify the perceived relationships among mechanisms, objectives and ITG principles. The result was a final list of mechanisms which is the main result of this study. Its main contribution is to identify ITG mechanisms on a common basis which may contribute to the continuity of ITG studies and the adoption of these mechanisms by organizations.