CISSE Intermediate Level
Information Systems Strategy, Governance and Ethics cheat sheet
Every chapter's key points, formulas and definitions on one page, for the last week before the exam. Each heading links to the chapter that explains it.
Introduction to information systems strategy
- Strategy is a high-level plan for reaching a long-term goal under uncertainty: it chooses what to do and, just as importantly, what not to do.
- Governance sets direction and holds the organisation accountable; management executes within that direction day to day.
- A board may delegate the running of information systems, but it stays responsible for supervising how the delegated work is done, as Re Barings plc (No 5) shows.
- The IS Manager or CIO translates business needs into an IS strategy, oversees IS operations and projects, manages IS risk and represents the IS function in strategic conversations.
- Alignment means every major IS decision, what to build, buy or retire, is made in explicit reference to the business goals it serves.
Key terms
- System
- An organised set of interdependent components working together toward a common purpose, an information system among them.
- Strategy
- A high-level plan for achieving a long-term goal under conditions of uncertainty, choosing what to do, and just as importantly, what not to do.
- Governance
- The structures, policies and processes by which an organisation is directed and controlled, distinct from day-to-day management (see The role of management, below).
- Ethics
- The moral principles guiding right conduct, applied here specifically to how information systems are strategised, governed and used.
The rest of the sheet covers
- Corporate IS strategy
- The information systems strategy triangle
- Organisational strategy and information systems
- Information systems and governance
- IS risk management
- Managing innovation
- Ethics in information systems
- Industry case studies
- Emerging issues
- Exam technique and revision
- Glossary