Digital and IT Strategy Training Course

Duration 10 days 20 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends IT Directors, Digital Transformation Managers and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-DT-030

Before you join: Participants should understand the purpose of IT services, digital products or technology-enabled change within their organisation.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Digital transformation programmes often stall because business priorities, technology investment, service management and operating decisions are treated separately. Leaders may approve cloud platforms, data initiatives or automation projects without a clear value case, target operating model, service design or measurement approach. The result is fragmented roadmaps, duplicated investment, poor adoption and digital services that fail to improve customer, citizen or employee outcomes.

This course teaches participants to shape and govern a practical digital and IT strategy using ITIL 4 Digital and IT Strategy concepts alongside recognised strategic tools. Participants assess external and internal drivers, define digital ambition, analyse customer journeys, select strategic options, develop value cases and set up governance. They also address digital products, service portfolios, sourcing, cybersecurity, data, architecture, workforce capability and organisational change.

Teaching combines focused briefings with realistic cases from public services, banking, healthcare, telecommunications and large corporate IT functions. Participants apply each method to a selected organisational challenge from the first week, refining a strategy document through peer review, decision simulations and instructor feedback. They leave with a usable digital and IT strategy pack, including a strategic assessment, target-state model, prioritised roadmap, investment case, governance design and measures.

The course suits managers and specialists responsible for translating organisational objectives into technology, data and service decisions. It is particularly relevant where an organisation is modernising legacy services, moving to cloud delivery, improving customer channels, building data capability or establishing product-based ways of working.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess digital disruption using PESTLE, Five Forces and capability analysis
  • Define a digital and IT strategic vision linked to measurable business outcomes
  • Map customer journeys and identify priority digital service improvements
  • Develop a target operating model for digital products and IT services
  • Prioritise initiatives using value, risk, dependency and feasibility criteria
  • Prepare a benefits case, investment profile and strategic roadmap
  • Design governance, sourcing and measurement arrangements for strategy execution
  • Present a complete digital and IT strategy pack to decision-makers

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Builds confidence presenting digital investment choices to senior decision-makers
  • Provides a repeatable structure for producing digital and IT strategy documents
  • Improves ability to connect technology proposals with customer and business value
  • Strengthens portfolio prioritisation skills for constrained budgets and delivery capacity
  • Creates evidence of strategic planning capability through a completed strategy pack

For your organisation

  • Creates clearer links between organisational goals, digital services and IT investment
  • Reduces duplicated initiatives through explicit portfolio and dependency management
  • Improves governance of cloud, data, product and service transformation decisions
  • Produces measurable benefits cases before major technology funding commitments
  • Establishes a practical roadmap for coordinating business, digital and IT teams

Course modules

20 modules over 10 days

Participants can explain how digital and IT strategy directs value, services and investment decisions.

  • ITIL 4 service value system and digital strategy relationships
  • Digital, IT and business strategy scopes distinguished through decision rights
  • Strategy cycle from sensing through execution, learning and adaptation
  • Value co-creation between customers, users, partners and internal teams
  • Guiding principles used to test strategic choices and delivery approaches
  • Strategic intent expressed through vision, mission, objectives and outcomes

Participants can assess external conditions shaping digital and IT strategic choices.

  • PESTLE analysis identifies policy, economic, social and technology drivers
  • Porter's Five Forces tests industry pressure and digital market positions
  • Horizon scanning captures emerging technologies, regulations and competitor moves
  • Scenario planning examines uncertainty, assumptions and alternative futures
  • Trend impact matrix ranks opportunities by relevance and time horizon
  • Regulatory obligations mapped to strategic constraints and assurance needs

Participants can diagnose organisational capabilities, constraints and strategic gaps.

  • Capability maps connect business outcomes, services, processes and technology
  • SWOT analysis separates evidence, assumptions, strengths, weaknesses and threats
  • Maturity assessment scores people, process, information and technology capabilities
  • Technical debt register identifies cost, risk and service performance impacts
  • Application portfolio assessment classifies invest, tolerate, migrate and retire decisions
  • Skills inventory exposes gaps in product, data, cloud and cyber roles

Participants can formulate a credible digital ambition and measurable strategic outcomes.

  • Vision statement defines the intended customer, workforce and service future
  • Strategic themes organise outcomes around customer, operational and risk priorities
  • Outcome statements distinguish results from activities, outputs and technology purchases
  • OKRs translate strategic themes into measurable objectives and key results
  • North Star metric selects a primary indicator of sustained value
  • Assumption mapping tests confidence behind ambition, outcomes and strategic claims

Participants can use customer evidence to identify high-value digital service improvements.

  • Customer journey mapping reveals friction, moments of truth and unmet needs
  • Personas distinguish user goals, behaviours, accessibility needs and context
  • Service blueprinting connects frontstage experience with supporting processes and systems
  • Voice-of-customer evidence combines feedback, complaints, research and usage data
  • Jobs to Be Done frames desired progress rather than solution features
  • Experience metrics include completion rate, effort score and satisfaction measures

Participants can structure digital offerings as managed products, services and portfolios.

  • Product versus service distinctions clarify ownership, funding and performance accountabilities
  • Service portfolio categories separate pipeline, live and retired service investments
  • Product lifecycle decisions cover discovery, launch, growth, renewal and retirement
  • Minimum viable product criteria test value, feasibility, usability and viability
  • Service catalogue entries define offerings, customers, commitments and request channels
  • Portfolio heat maps expose investment balance, risk concentration and lifecycle status

Participants can define a target operating model supporting digital strategy execution.

  • Target operating model covers processes, people, technology, governance and partners
  • Operating model canvas links strategic outcomes to delivery capabilities
  • Product operating model assigns enduring teams around customer and service domains
  • Value stream mapping identifies handoffs, delays, rework and control points
  • RACI matrices clarify accountabilities across business, digital and IT functions
  • Decision-rights matrix assigns authority for investment, architecture and risk decisions

Participants can set strategic technology principles and target-state architecture priorities.

  • Architecture principles guide standardisation, interoperability, resilience and maintainability decisions
  • Business capability heat maps identify technology investment priorities
  • Cloud adoption framework assesses workload suitability, risk and migration sequencing
  • Build, buy and configure choices compare strategic differentiation and lifecycle cost
  • Integration patterns address APIs, events, data exchange and legacy constraints
  • Technology radar classifies adopt, trial, assess and hold technologies

Participants can incorporate data and AI priorities into a digital and IT strategy.

  • Data strategy defines priority domains, ownership, quality and access principles
  • Data governance assigns stewardship, accountability, standards and issue escalation
  • Data quality dimensions measure accuracy, completeness, timeliness, validity and consistency
  • AI use-case canvas tests value, data readiness, risk and human oversight
  • Model risk controls address bias, explainability, monitoring and approval requirements
  • Information lifecycle policies cover creation, retention, archival and disposal

Participants can embed security, resilience and risk treatment within strategic planning.

  • Risk appetite statements define acceptable exposure for strategic objectives
  • ISO 27001 control themes inform information security strategic priorities
  • NIST Cybersecurity Framework functions organise identify, protect, detect and recover actions
  • Business impact analysis identifies critical services, recovery targets and dependencies
  • Threat modelling considers assets, attack paths, controls and residual risk
  • Third-party risk assessment evaluates supplier access, continuity and data handling

Participants can compare strategic options using explicit evidence and decision criteria.

  • Strategic options canvas compares scope, benefits, cost, risk and feasibility
  • Wardley Mapping locates components by user need, evolution and value chain
  • Cost of delay ranks options through urgency, value and risk reduction
  • Multi-criteria decision analysis weights strategic, financial, operational and risk factors
  • Real options thinking stages investment under uncertainty and changing evidence
  • Recommendation narratives state choice, rationale, trade-offs and rejected alternatives

Participants can construct a defensible case for digital and IT investment.

  • Benefits dependency network links initiatives, capabilities, outcomes and measures
  • Total cost of ownership includes acquisition, operation, change and retirement costs
  • Business case structure defines problem, options, costs, benefits and risks
  • Financial appraisal compares payback period, net present value and sensitivity
  • Non-financial benefits quantify service quality, compliance, resilience and user outcomes
  • Benefits realisation plan assigns owners, baselines, targets and review dates

Participants can prioritise initiatives and sequence a realistic transformation roadmap.

  • Portfolio scoring model ranks initiatives using value, risk and feasibility
  • Dependency mapping identifies prerequisites, constraints, shared platforms and critical paths
  • Now-next-later roadmap communicates sequencing without false delivery precision
  • Quarterly planning horizons align investment decisions with evidence and capacity
  • Capacity planning balances strategic initiatives, service operations and technical debt
  • Roadmap milestones define decision gates, outcomes, dependencies and accountable owners

Participants can design governance that maintains strategic direction while enabling timely decisions.

  • COBIT 2019 governance objectives connect stakeholder needs with management practices
  • Portfolio board terms define authority, membership, cadence and escalation routes
  • Architecture review process assesses principle compliance, exceptions and technical risk
  • Investment stage gates test evidence before funding, scaling and continuation
  • Exception management records deviations, rationale, controls and expiry dates
  • Management information pack combines progress, benefits, risks and decision requests

Participants can align sourcing decisions and supplier relationships with strategic objectives.

  • Sourcing strategy separates strategic capabilities from commodity service requirements
  • Make-buy-partner analysis compares control, capability, speed, cost and risk
  • Supplier segmentation differentiates strategic, tactical, operational and bottleneck relationships
  • Outcome-based contracts specify service results, measures, incentives and accountabilities
  • Service integration model coordinates multiple suppliers, platforms and internal teams
  • Exit planning addresses data portability, transition support and contractual dependencies

Participants can plan the people and change conditions needed for strategy adoption.

  • Stakeholder mapping identifies influence, interests, resistance and engagement approaches
  • ADKAR model structures awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement actions
  • Change impact assessment examines roles, processes, skills, controls and behaviours
  • Communications plan tailors messages, channels, timing and feedback mechanisms
  • Capability development plan defines learning pathways, coaching and recruitment actions
  • Communities of practice sustain standards, knowledge sharing and peer support

Participants can establish measures and review cycles for adaptive strategy management.

  • Strategy scorecard links outcomes to leading indicators and lagging measures
  • Balanced Scorecard perspectives connect financial, customer, process and capability measures
  • KPI definitions specify formula, data source, owner, frequency and threshold
  • Benefits review cadence examines realised value, variance and corrective decisions
  • Leading indicators identify adoption, delivery flow, quality and risk signals
  • Strategy refresh triggers include market shifts, incidents, evidence and policy changes

Participants can communicate strategic choices clearly to executive and delivery stakeholders.

  • Executive narrative connects strategic problem, evidence, choice and expected outcomes
  • One-page strategy communicates ambition, priorities, measures and delivery commitments
  • Decision papers distinguish recommendations, approvals required, risks and alternatives
  • Visual roadmaps show sequencing, dependencies, value releases and decision points
  • Stakeholder briefing adapts detail for boards, sponsors, teams and partners
  • Challenge sessions test assumptions, affordability, feasibility and strategic alignment

Participants can convert strategic direction into governed implementation action.

  • Mobilisation plan establishes sponsorship, governance, resources and initial workstreams
  • Ninety-day plan defines early outcomes, decisions, milestones and accountable owners
  • Transformation backlog converts strategic initiatives into prioritised delivery work
  • Agile portfolio reviews reassess priorities using evidence, capacity and dependencies
  • Risk register records strategic threats, responses, owners and escalation thresholds
  • Implementation dashboard tracks roadmap progress, benefits, issues and key decisions

Participants can build, review and present a complete digital and IT strategy pack for a defined organisational challenge.

  • Strategic assessment synthesises external drivers, capabilities, customer evidence and constraints
  • Digital ambition states vision, strategic themes, outcomes and measurable objectives
  • Target-state model defines products, services, capabilities, governance and technology direction
  • Prioritised roadmap sequences initiatives, dependencies, milestones and investment decision gates
  • Benefits case quantifies value, costs, risks, assumptions and accountable owners
  • Executive presentation defends choices, trade-offs, measures and implementation priorities

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Digital and IT strategy template
  2. Strategic assessment and capability baseline
  3. Customer journey and service blueprint
  4. Target operating model canvas
  5. Prioritised transformation roadmap
  6. Benefits case and governance checklist

Who should attend

  • IT Directors — setting technology direction and investment priorities
  • Digital Transformation Managers — coordinating business change and digital delivery
  • Enterprise Architects — translating strategy into target-state architecture decisions
  • Service Management Leaders — aligning services with digital business outcomes
  • Product Managers — connecting product portfolios to strategic priorities
  • Business Relationship Managers — shaping demand, value cases and stakeholder agreement

Skills and tools covered

Digital strategy designStrategic portfolio prioritisationTarget operating modelsValue case developmentDigital service governanceTransformation roadmap planning

Tools and standards

ITIL 4, COBIT 2019, Wardley Mapping, NIST Cybersecurity Framework

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce ITIL 4 Digital and IT Strategy concepts, strategic frameworks and decision criteria. Participants work through sector-based cases, small-group analyses, governance simulations and structured peer reviews. Each participant applies the tools to an organisational challenge, beginning with strategic assessment and progressing through target-state design, investment choices and delivery planning. Facilitators provide critique on assumptions, evidence, stakeholder alignment and measures. Time is reserved for application planning, allowing participants to adapt templates to their own operating context.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand the purpose of IT services, digital products or technology-enabled change within their organisation. Experience contributing to projects, service improvement, architecture, portfolio planning, product management or business analysis is helpful. Participants should be able to discuss their organisation's priorities, current systems, customer groups and major constraints. Prior ITIL certification is useful but not required. The course does not require coding, data science, financial modelling expertise or detailed knowledge of a specific cloud platform. Senior technical specialists without formal strategy experience can participate.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should understand how your organisation uses IT services, digital products or technology-enabled change. Project, service management, architecture, product or business analysis experience is useful, but ITIL certification and technical coding skills are not required.

Bring a laptop for working with course templates and, where permitted, non-sensitive information about a real strategic challenge. Useful inputs include current priorities, service issues, planned investments, customer evidence and known constraints.

It is designed for managers and specialists who influence digital, data, technology, service or transformation decisions. It suits both emerging strategy practitioners and experienced managers seeking a common planning method.

Project management focuses on delivering defined work, while enterprise architecture focuses on structure and standards. This course addresses the strategic choices that determine which investments, services, capabilities and operating changes should be pursued.

Participants leave with templates and an initial strategy pack that can be adapted for a business unit, service portfolio or enterprise transformation programme. The methods support stakeholder workshops, investment papers, roadmap reviews and governance meetings.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The first week builds assessment, vision and target-state work; the second week focuses on investment, governance, implementation and the final strategy capstone.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

Related courses in Digital Transformation