Making the Most of IT Governance Software: Understanding Implementation Processes

Why are many information technology (IT) governance software implementations challenged and what are the critical success factors (CSFs) for the rollouts? This question has recently gained importance, since IT governance is high on the corporate agenda and software applications have become available which promise to enforce and streamline IT governance mechanisms. However, early research has shown some of the difficulties surrounding the implementations of theses tools. This article presents and discusses several implementation case studies based on a comprehensive research framework, and concludes with a discussion of implementation practices. It can be seen that three major factors can overcome most common failure point: careful project planning, top management support, and tight organizational integration.