Discover Business Technology Standards Experience
Discover’s Pioneering Approach to Tech Governance
Introduction
Idea Refinement and Validation
In the rapidly evolving landscape of technology governance, Discover Financial Services embarked on an ambitious project: The BT Standard CraftWorx Readiness Initiative. This case study explores the journey of integrating the agile CraftWorx methodology with the structured governance framework of COBIT. It highlights the challenges, strategies, and triumphant outcomes of aligning business technology policies with an agile mindset, focusing on enhanced security, risk reduction, and operational efficiency.
In July 2023, Discover, under the fresh direction of leadership, identified a pressing need to align its business technology policies with the evolving CraftWorx methodology. The BT Standard CraftWorx Readiness Initiative was born out of this need, aiming to integrate the agility of CraftWorx with the standardized governance structure of COBIT. This initiative represented a strategic shift towards more robust, compliance-oriented, and agile technology governance.
my tools
The tools I used on this project...
persona
The Contributor
- Develop, update, and maintain the Asset Management Policy.
- Identify risks associated with IT assets, from software licenses being out of compliance to hardware vulnerabilities.
persona
The Consumer
- Collaborate with other department heads to establish best practices for IT security.
- Ensure compliance with industry security standards and regulations. Assess and mitigate potential risks to the organization’s data and infrastructure.
the challenge
Discovery and Research Phase
The project began with a comprehensive discovery and research phase led by a team member who transitioned from the CraftWorx team. Employing design thinking, the team interviewed internal stakeholders, focusing on understanding the existing policies and standards. Key personas included:
- The Standard Owner: With 25 years in IT Service Management, their role was pivotal in ensuring that technology governance was aligned with business objectives and regulatory requirements.
- The Standard Consumer: An engineering expert with 20 years of experience looking for clear, accessible policies to ensure robust security practices across the organization.
The research revealed that companies with COBIT-aligned policies and procedures experienced significant improvements in compliance, risk management, and operational efficiency. Studies indicated that such alignment led to a 30-40% increase in compliance efficiency and a 25-35% reduction in risk-related incidents.
the approach
Merging UX with Compliance
The initiative’s core was to integrate the agile and user-centric principles of CraftWorx with the structured and standardized approach of COBIT. The challenge was to create a flexible yet compliant system, innovative yet reliable. The solution was to develop a framework where CraftWorx practices were mapped to COBIT governance domains, ensuring that each aspect of technology management was agile and aligned with global standards.
The Discover Technology Academy (DTA) was chosen as the platform to roll out this integrated approach. The DTA, traditionally a learning and training hub, was optimized to host the newly aligned policies and standards, supplemented with interactive learning modules based on CraftWorx content.
the results
Standards and The Technology Academy
The Discover Technology Academy (DTA) platform has implemented several key solutions and recommendations to enhance the usability and effectiveness of the BT Standard pages. A centralized hub now serves as a single access point for all BT Standards, simplifying governance processes. The platform has introduced an intuitive navigation system and a robust taxonomy, paired with effective search functionalities, making it easier for users to find and utilize necessary policies. Additionally, each standard is now directly linked to its authoritative source to prevent duplication and misinformation.
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