Strategic Information Technology Management Training Course

Duration 10 days 20 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Advanced Certificate on completion
Who attends Chief Information Officers, IT Directors 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-031

Before you join: Participants should have at least three years of experience in IT management, digital transformation, technology delivery, enterprise architecture, data management or business planning.

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

Strategic IT leaders must connect technology investment to measurable business outcomes while controlling risk, cost, architecture complexity and delivery uncertainty. This is difficult when legacy platforms, cloud services, data products, cyber threats, regulatory obligations and supplier dependencies compete for attention. Senior managers need more than project oversight: they need a repeatable way to set direction, govern decisions, fund priorities and prove value.

This course examines advanced strategic information technology management through the full management cycle. Participants assess business and technology drivers; define target operating models and enterprise architecture principles; build portfolios and roadmaps; establish IT governance; manage investment cases; direct sourcing decisions; and set performance, risk and benefits measures. The programme uses recognised approaches including COBIT 2019, ITIL 4, TOGAF, ISO/IEC 27001 and FinOps practices. Participants learn how to convert executive priorities into accountable technology plans, decision rights, delivery controls and measurable value cases.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings, sector cases, group analysis, leadership simulations and structured application work. Cases reflect realistic issues such as a bank modernising core systems, a public agency consolidating citizen platforms, a multinational rationalising applications and an NGO improving programme data quality. From the first week, participants develop artefacts for a selected organisational challenge. They leave with a strategic IT management dossier containing a technology strategy, governance design, portfolio view, roadmap, investment case, risk controls and performance measures.

The course is suited to experienced IT, digital, data, transformation and business leaders who contribute to technology direction, investment governance or enterprise change. It is particularly valuable for managers moving from operational IT responsibility into enterprise-level decision-making.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess business strategy, technology capability and external drivers using structured diagnostic methods
  • Design IT governance decision rights, committees, escalation routes and accountability matrices
  • Develop enterprise architecture principles and target-state capability models using TOGAF concepts
  • Prioritise technology portfolios using value, risk, dependency, cost and strategic-fit criteria
  • Prepare technology investment cases with financial models, benefits maps and delivery assumptions
  • Construct multi-year technology roadmaps linking initiatives, architecture transitions and business outcomes
  • Establish IT performance, risk and benefits measures using balanced scorecards and control indicators
  • Present a strategic IT management dossier for executive review and funding decisions

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce executive-ready technology strategies rather than isolated IT project plans
  • Defend technology funding requests with quantified value, risk and dependency evidence
  • Lead governance discussions using clear decision rights and escalation mechanisms
  • Translate architecture choices into business capability, cost and risk implications
  • Build credibility for senior IT, digital transformation and portfolio leadership roles

For your organisation

  • Improved alignment between technology spending and strategic business priorities
  • More disciplined selection, sequencing and termination of technology investments
  • Clearer accountability for architecture, cyber risk, service performance and benefits
  • Reduced duplication through application rationalisation and target-state architecture planning
  • Stronger executive oversight of transformation cost, value delivery and delivery risk

Course modules

20 modules over 10 days

Participants can frame strategic IT management as a business value, risk and capability discipline.

  • Strategic IT management responsibilities across value, risk, cost and performance
  • Business strategy translation into technology priorities, capabilities and investment themes
  • Technology management maturity assessed through operating model and governance evidence
  • Demand, supply and control perspectives within senior technology leadership
  • Digital transformation versus business-as-usual technology improvement programmes
  • Stakeholder mapping for boards, executives, regulators, users and suppliers

Participants can diagnose strategic business and technology conditions that shape IT direction.

  • PESTLE analysis applied to technology regulation, markets and public expectations
  • Porter's Five Forces used to identify digital competitive pressures
  • SWOT and TOWS matrices connecting technology strengths to strategic options
  • Business capability mapping identifies gaps behind strategic performance objectives
  • Value chain analysis distinguishes differentiating capabilities from commodity services
  • Technology trend assessment separates material opportunities from vendor claims

Participants can formulate a technology strategy with clear choices, themes and measures.

  • Strategy-on-a-page structure covering ambition, choices, priorities and measures
  • Strategic themes linked to business outcomes and technology capability gaps
  • Technology principles define consistent choices for platforms, data and sourcing
  • Horizon planning separates immediate stabilisation from medium-term transformation
  • Assumption logs expose dependencies, uncertainties and decisions requiring validation
  • Executive narrative converts technical intent into board-level strategic language

Participants can design governance arrangements that improve decision quality and accountability.

  • COBIT 2019 governance objectives mapped to strategic technology management decisions
  • Decision-rights matrix assigns authority for investment, architecture and risk
  • RACI model clarifies accountable executives, delivery owners and control functions
  • Technology investment board terms of reference and decision criteria
  • Architecture review board controls standards, exceptions and technical debt
  • Escalation paths distinguish delivery issues from strategic decision failures

Participants can define a target IT operating model aligned to strategic priorities.

  • Target operating model dimensions: processes, people, technology, governance and partners
  • Service ownership model distinguishes product, platform and shared-service accountabilities
  • Federated and centralised IT models assessed against organisational complexity
  • ITIL 4 service value system applied to technology operating design
  • Product operating model aligns persistent teams with customer outcomes
  • Workforce capability assessment identifies strategic skills, roles and capacity gaps

Participants can use enterprise architecture to connect strategic intent with technology change.

  • TOGAF Architecture Development Method applied to strategic transformation planning
  • Business, data, application and technology architecture viewpoints compared
  • Architecture principles tested against cloud, integration and data decisions
  • Baseline architecture inventory identifies duplication, fragility and unsupported platforms
  • Target architecture describes required capabilities, standards and transition states
  • Architecture runway plans enabling foundations before dependent business initiatives

Participants can assess and rationalise application portfolios using evidence-based criteria.

  • Application inventory captures ownership, lifecycle, cost, criticality and dependencies
  • TIME model classifies applications as tolerate, invest, migrate or eliminate
  • Technical debt register quantifies remediation exposure and deferred maintenance
  • Business fit and technical fit scoring identify rationalisation candidates
  • Dependency mapping reveals integration risks during application retirement decisions
  • Application lifecycle roadmaps sequence replacements, upgrades and decommissioning actions

Participants can incorporate data, analytics and AI priorities into strategic IT plans.

  • Data strategy aligns priority use cases, domains and stewardship accountabilities
  • Data governance operating model assigns ownership, quality and access decisions
  • Data maturity assessment evaluates architecture, quality, literacy and controls
  • AI use-case prioritisation balances value, feasibility, risk and data readiness
  • Model risk controls address bias, explainability, monitoring and approval
  • Data product principles define reusable datasets, ownership and service expectations

Participants can integrate cyber and technology risk controls into strategic management decisions.

  • ISO/IEC 27001 control themes linked to strategic technology risk decisions
  • Risk appetite statements define acceptable exposure for critical technology services
  • Cyber risk register records threats, vulnerabilities, controls and accountable owners
  • NIST Cybersecurity Framework functions structure executive security reporting
  • Third-party risk assessments address suppliers, cloud services and data processors
  • Business continuity priorities connect recovery objectives with critical service design

Participants can appraise technology investments using financial, strategic and risk evidence.

  • Total cost of ownership includes implementation, support, retirement and change
  • Business case structure defines problem, options, costs, benefits and risks
  • Net present value compares multi-year technology investment alternatives
  • Benefits dependency network links enablers, changes, outcomes and measurable benefits
  • FinOps practices allocate cloud spending through accountability and consumption controls
  • Sensitivity analysis tests assumptions behind costs, benefits and delivery timing

Participants can prioritise technology initiatives through transparent portfolio decision methods.

  • Portfolio segmentation separates mandatory, strategic, sustaining and exploratory investments
  • Weighted scoring model ranks initiatives against agreed decision criteria
  • Value-risk matrix exposes high-value initiatives requiring stronger delivery controls
  • Capacity-based portfolio planning tests funding, skills and supplier constraints
  • Dependency sequencing prevents benefits claims preceding required platform foundations
  • Stop, pause and accelerate criteria support active portfolio management

Participants can build technology roadmaps that coordinate strategic change and dependencies.

  • Roadmap layers connect business outcomes, capabilities, initiatives and architecture transitions
  • Milestone design identifies decision gates, releases and measurable outcome points
  • Transition architectures manage interim states between baseline and target designs
  • Critical path analysis identifies schedule constraints across interdependent technology initiatives
  • Scenario roadmaps compare funding, risk and delivery-speed alternatives
  • Roadmap governance establishes refresh cycles, ownership and executive reporting

Participants can make sourcing and supplier decisions aligned with strategic technology needs.

  • Make-buy-partner analysis compares strategic control, capability, cost and risk
  • Cloud adoption strategy assesses workload suitability, controls and exit requirements
  • Supplier segmentation distinguishes strategic partners from transactional service providers
  • Service integration and management model coordinates multiple technology suppliers
  • Contract scorecards measure service levels, innovation commitments and commercial performance
  • Exit plans address data portability, transition support and continuity risks

Participants can govern product-oriented delivery while maintaining strategic control and assurance.

  • Product portfolio model links customer journeys, products and enabling platforms
  • OKRs connect product outcomes with strategic technology and business priorities
  • Stage-gate controls tailored for discovery, delivery and operational readiness
  • Agile governance balances team autonomy with investment, risk and architecture oversight
  • DevSecOps metrics expose deployment reliability, security and delivery flow
  • Minimum viable product decisions test value before major scaling commitments

Participants can plan leadership and adoption actions required for technology strategy execution.

  • ADKAR model identifies awareness, capability and reinforcement adoption requirements
  • Stakeholder influence analysis targets sponsorship, resistance and communication actions
  • Change impact assessment maps process, role, skill and control changes
  • Leadership coalition design assigns visible sponsorship across business and technology
  • Communication plans match decision-makers, users, regulators and delivery teams
  • Adoption metrics measure usage, proficiency, compliance and realised value

Participants can establish measures linking IT services, investments and strategic outcomes.

  • Balanced scorecard measures financial, customer, process and capability performance
  • Technology KPI hierarchy links operational metrics to executive strategic outcomes
  • Benefits realisation plan assigns owners, baselines, targets and review dates
  • Service level indicators distinguish user experience from technical availability
  • Leading and lagging indicators reveal emerging delivery and value risks
  • Executive dashboards present exceptions, trends, decisions and accountability clearly

Participants can manage strategic risks arising from technology change, concentration and disruption.

  • Technology risk taxonomy categorises operational, cyber, vendor and transformation exposures
  • Risk heat maps combine likelihood, impact, velocity and control effectiveness
  • Concentration risk analysis examines critical cloud, supplier and platform dependencies
  • Resilience testing scenarios assess service failure, cyberattack and supplier outage
  • Control assurance plans schedule evidence reviews, testing and remediation tracking
  • Board risk reporting distinguishes residual exposure from treatment progress

Participants can communicate technology choices and trade-offs clearly to senior decision-makers.

  • Executive briefing structure leads with decision, value, risk and recommendation
  • Pyramid Principle organises evidence beneath concise senior management messages
  • Technology trade-off papers compare options, implications and recommended decisions
  • Board-ready visuals show investment exposure, delivery confidence and strategic alignment
  • Question handling prepares responses on cost, risk, capability and accountability
  • Negotiation planning addresses conflicting priorities between business and technology leaders

Participants can integrate strategy, governance, architecture, investment and performance artefacts into one coherent plan.

  • Dossier scope defines strategic challenge, business outcomes and decision audience
  • Strategy themes aligned with target capabilities, architecture and portfolio initiatives
  • Governance design tested against investment, risk and architecture decision scenarios
  • Roadmap dependencies reconciled with capacity, funding and supplier constraints
  • Performance measures linked to benefits, risk appetite and executive reporting
  • Peer review identifies evidence gaps, contradictions and unclear accountability

Participants can build, review and present a complete strategic IT management dossier for an executive funding and governance decision.

  • Executive problem statement frames business need, technology constraints and opportunities
  • Technology strategy presents choices, principles, target capabilities and strategic themes
  • Prioritised portfolio demonstrates value, risk, dependencies, funding and sequencing
  • Governance model specifies decision rights, forums, controls and escalation routes
  • Roadmap shows transition states, milestones, benefits and accountable owners
  • Executive presentation defends recommendations against stakeholder challenge and scrutiny

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

What you take back to work

  1. Technology strategy-on-a-page template
  2. IT governance decision-rights matrix
  3. Technology portfolio prioritisation model
  4. Enterprise architecture transition roadmap
  5. Technology investment business-case template
  6. Strategic IT management dossier

Who should attend

  • Chief Information Officers — responsible for technology direction, governance and investment outcomes
  • IT Directors — need to align operating priorities with enterprise strategy and funding
  • Digital Transformation Leaders — require governed roadmaps for cross-functional change programmes
  • Enterprise Architects — translate target architectures into prioritised transition plans
  • Technology Portfolio Managers — need defensible methods for investment selection and sequencing
  • Business Relationship Managers — connect business demand with technology capabilities and value cases

Skills and tools covered

IT strategy formulationTechnology portfolio managementEnterprise architecture planningIT governance designDigital investment appraisalTechnology value measurement

Tools and standards

COBIT 2019, ITIL 4, TOGAF, ISO/IEC 27001

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce strategic management methods, followed by realistic cases from banking, government, multinational and mission-led organisations. Participants analyse business drivers, governance failures, architecture trade-offs, supplier decisions and investment proposals in groups. Simulations test executive decision-making under budget, risk and delivery constraints. Individual application planning connects each method to a current organisational issue. Facilitated reviews help participants improve their technology strategy dossier, executive narrative and supporting management artefacts.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have at least three years of experience in IT management, digital transformation, technology delivery, enterprise architecture, data management or business planning. They should understand common technology services, project delivery concepts, budgets and stakeholder management. Experience contributing to a technology strategy, portfolio, major programme or governance forum is useful. This is not an introductory IT course. Coding, advanced financial modelling, formal architecture certification and prior knowledge of COBIT, TOGAF or ITIL are not required; the course introduces the relevant parts needed for strategic management decisions.

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

Participants should already work in IT, digital, transformation, architecture, data or business technology roles and understand how technology services are delivered. The course assumes management experience but does not require formal certification in COBIT, TOGAF, ITIL or project management.

Bring a current or recent technology challenge, such as a portfolio decision, architecture transition, cloud programme, data initiative or governance problem. Participants can use this challenge as the basis for their strategy dossier and application planning.

The course is designed for senior IT and digital managers, enterprise architects, portfolio leaders, transformation managers and business relationship managers. It is best suited to people who influence technology investment, governance or enterprise-wide change.

Project management courses focus on planning and controlling individual initiatives, while architecture courses focus mainly on structure and design choices. This course brings strategy, governance, architecture, investment, sourcing, risk and benefits management together for senior technology decision-making.

Participants develop reusable artefacts including a strategy-on-a-page, decision-rights matrix, portfolio model, roadmap and business-case structure. These can be adapted for an upcoming steering committee, budget cycle, transformation review or architecture decision.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The first week establishes strategy, governance, architecture, data, risk and investment foundations; the second week focuses on portfolios, roadmaps, sourcing, performance, executive communication and the capstone dossier.

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

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