Information managers should be able to manage change on the demand side:

• Understanding the demand side, aiming at the strategic alignment of IT
• Exploring opportunities for technological innovation and e-business models
• Mastering good practice, whether at the level of its principles, processes, controls, or responsibilities
• Strategic planning and benefit assessment (financial and non-financial) – crucial for stakeholder involvement – and using information for value creation
• Leading the governance process based on good practices (COBIT), ensuring alignment between stakeholders' needs and IT objectives

This module is the introduction to the course and will present the technologies that are changing the world of business and management. The focus of the course is precisely the management of these technologies, which are viewed as supports for the information systems of organizations. The course's modules are presented so as to provide a solid training in this area. The creation of value and strategy in the information society is also discussed through case studies.

The module addresses the strategic planning process, from information systems in this broader perspective and the link to the stakeholder challenge to the objectives of information technology management.

Concepts in strategic planning of information systems:

• Alignment between information systems and the organization
• The central components of information systems architecture
• Advantages and disadvantages of more vertical or more horizontal approaches
• The budgetary component
• Building an information systems team
• Approval and monitoring
• Practical examples of strategic information systems planning
• Analysis and discussion

An overview of good practices in governance and management of information technologies is presented, and in particular, students are trained in the COBIT® 5 framework, the latest reference of the ISACA association and a tool used by professionals around the world in areas such as IT governance, management, risk, security, and auditing.

Concepts in strategic planning of information systems:

• Understand how technologies can be a competitive advantage factor for businesses and how organizations can ensure that stakeholder benefits are adequately aligned with the objectives of their information systems
• Understand the concepts related to the format and content of the COBIT® 5 framework and the motivations and benefits of organizations adopting the framework in the governance and management of their information systems
• Know and understand COBIT® 5’s five fundamental principles and seven facilitators
• Understand the importance of an organization adopting a holistic view of the governance and management of its information system, involving all business areas and technologies
• Know the process of implementing a system for the governance and management of the information system
• Know the contents, structure, and requirements of the COBIT ® 5 Foundation exam, thereby becoming better prepared to take the exam

Information managers should be equipped to implement tactical action processes, in particular:

• Mastering the concepts of company and information architecture, aiming at the integration of information and the adequacy of infrastructures
• Establishing a governance model and knowing how to recognize maturity levels, define structures and responsibilities, and organize information resources and IT metrics
• Implementing, in the light of good practices, demand management models, contextualized in governance models
• Managing projects, considering their scope, stakeholders, activities, and resources
• Framing opportunities for technological innovation from initial idea to project design

The intention of this module is to present the various aspects and concepts of distribution, focusing on consumer products and addressing the operational and commercial aspects of distribution channel management. The ECR topic will be introduced and detailed in the context of strategic partnerships in modern distribution. All the most relevant topics will be complemented by discussion of the issues and group debate in the classroom, as well as by practical examples.

In order to be able to implement and maintain technologies and information governance, it is essential to have an adequate knowledge of information system and infrastructure architectures. Without this knowledge it is impossible to establish dialogue with technical teams, suppliers, and, increasingly, customers. In this course we begin by describing application architecture concepts, identifying and describing the most relevant components, and then move on to information system architectures and more complex web architectures, with special emphasis on mobility solutions. We then move to the infrastructure level, identifying and characterizing components, from localized to cloud solutions, including hybrid and distributed high availability solutions. Once these terms are consolidated, definitions of infrastructure services (IaaS), software services (PaaS and SaaS), service level (SLA), and service management concepts are introduced. To complete the knowledge of architecture it is essential to address the issue of security, whether at the level of software, infrastructure, or services. The course ends with a discussion of good practices in architecture evaluation.

• The CIO should lead the governance process based on good practices that ensure alignment between stakeholders' needs and IT objectives
• Vision of the governance system in the context of organizational governance, aiming at the involvement of business decision makers, value maximization, and risk reduction
• Information system governance models and articulation of good practices (COBIT, ITIL, ISO, ISF, etc.); principles of audit and internal control
• Resources and services management
• Alignment of the management model with the maturity of the organization (Parsons strategies); mastery of IT service maturity levels
• Example of IT process maturity assessment
• Resources management model that goes beyond the technological component, based on its criticality for the business
• Information systems management model as a bridge for budget management, IT staffing, and organization of the IT division

ITIL-based service management:

• IT service management is an approach that implements a new relationship between IT suppliers and customers, with a focus on quality, processes, and control
• ITIL as a good practice in IT service management defines a set of areas and processes that must be dominated by information systems professionals
• Contract management, financial management, and service level management are examples of IT management processes

Demand management:

• IT services management is an approach where, from an operational point of view, alignment with the business requires the definition of relationship processes, investment evaluation criteria, collaborative activities, and reporting circuits
• An integrated view of the initiatives under approval, portfolio, requests for change, and ongoing projects will be decisive for the effectiveness of the company’s information systems
• Example of implementation of ITIL-oriented IT processes, implementation of change management processes, project management, and demand management support tools in an integrated vision

Facing ever tighter deadlines, the need to do more with less, and increasingly complex scenarios, project managers need more than ever to find new and innovative ways to do their job. Executing projects on time and on budget is always a challenge. Sustaining a flow of new ideas and keeping teams motivated is a big part of this challenge. Ensuring that innovation is part of project management is essential for organizations to maintain their capacity for innovation and gain competitive advantages.

Topics:

• Examples of good practice in innovation management
• Processes for creating innovative products and services
• Incentives for generating ideas and solving problems
• The "innovation process"
• Managing the main types of innovation: product, service, process, and business model innovation

Information managers should be prepared to control the practices implemented, guided by ethical principles and mobilizing for change:

• Being sensitive to the ethical principles that technological development may challenge
• Monitoring and evaluating the implemented practices will permit an approach of continuous improvement, within a framework of accountability and professional ethics
• More than a technique, information security should be approached as a management system enlightened by good practice
• Business continuity implies a structured analysis, combining different types of resources
• Closing the cycle, the evolution of IT management maturity is a pay-off of a change of mentalities; knowledge management will be an indispensable tool in this context

Good governance, both competent and accountable, must be based on clear ethical principles and include sufficiently comprehensive check mechanisms to allow effective control and strict accountability. It is increasingly normal for an organization to draw up and disseminate its code of ethics, covering the various stakeholders (management, employees, partners, regulators, other public administration bodies, and, of course, customers). This course begins by looking at the question of ethics in the personal dimension in terms of individual responsibility, principles, and manner of acting, and moves on to the organizational level by analyzing the mechanisms by which an organization defines its values and creates its business culture. Using elaborate case studies, the course seeks to lead students towards identifying good practices applicable and implementable in their particular context.

Due to the importance of e-business and IT infrastructures, many companies today could not survive without running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Time spent on an incident and the resulting inactivity can spell disaster for a business. Such disasters can occur at any time, so organizations must have a plan to minimize the resulting disruption and keep the business competitive and operational. Business continuity refers to the processes necessary to keep the organization running during a period of disruption or interruption of its normal operation. Information security is an integral part of business continuity. For most companies, security is now mandatory and is important in the audit context, as failing a security audit may have significant impacts.

Topics:

• Risk and vulnerability assessments
• Business impact reports
• Define risk treatments
• Business continuity plan
• Resilience, recovery, contingency
• Development of security programs and definition of access controls
• Identification and monitoring of violations
• Data registration and backup
• Recovery and restoration of system operations; standards (ISO 27001)

In this final module of the course, we discuss the importance of information systems management for the success of organizations. As the purpose of data and information is the acquisition of knowledge for correct decision-making, this module discusses knowledge management techniques in organizations. The concepts of tacit and explicit knowledge are introduced, as well as the cycle of knowledge conversion and its management. The module utilizes study and discussion of cases as a means of tacit acquisition of knowledge management techniques.

Topics:

• Tacit and explicit knowledge
• Knowledge conversion – the SECI model
• Strategic audit of organizational knowledge
• Tacit characteristics of knowledge in organizations
• Knowledge and learning – double loop learning
• Methodological conception for knowledge management adapted to the strategic moment