Free Practice Questions for Isaca CGEIT Exam

The correct approach is toagree on target maturity levels in response to need—this ensures that the maturity level supports enterprise objectives, risk appetite, and strategic priorities. The maturity should be fit-for-purpose, rather than arbitrarily benchmarked or driven solely by cost or strengths.

While competitor benchmarks and cost considerations can provide insight, they are secondary to ensuring that the governance processes meetspecific business and governance needs.

Enterprise architecture (EA) is the most useful in developing IT strategic plans aligned with technological needs because it provides a holistic view of the current and desired state of the organization, including its business processes, information systems, data, applications, infrastructure, and security. EA helps to align the organization’s vision, strategy, and goals with its IT capabilities and resources. EA also helps to identify the gaps, risks, and opportunities for improvement in the existing IT environment and to design and implement the optimal IT solutions that can support the business needs and objectives. EA can help to ensure that the IT strategic plans are consistent, coherent, and feasible12.

A business impact analysis (BIA) is a tool that helps to assess the potential impact of a disruption or change on the business objectives, processes, and functions. A BIA can help to prioritize the criticality of the IT resources and determine the acceptable level of risk and recovery time. A BIA can provide a basis for deciding how to allocate the budget, reduce the requirements, or contract external resources3. However, a BIA is not sufficient for developing IT strategic plans aligned with technological needs because it does not provide a comprehensive view of the current and future IT architecture and its alignment with the business strategy.

A business case is a document that describes the rationale and justification for initiating a project or investment. A business case can help to evaluate the costs, benefits, risks, and alternatives of different IT options and to communicate the value proposition to the stakeholders4. However, a business case is not enough for developing IT strategic plans aligned with technological needs because it does not provide a holistic view of the current and future IT architecture and its alignment with the business strategy.

A benchmark analysis is a process of comparing the performance, quality, or practices of an organization with those of its peers or competitors. A benchmark analysis can help to identify the best practices, standards, or trends in the industry and to measure the gap between the current and desired state of an organization. However, a benchmark analysis is not adequate for developing IT strategic plans aligned with technological needs because it does not provide a holistic view of the current and future IT architecture and its alignment with the business strategy.

References := Implement Agile IT Strategic Planning with Enterprise Architecture, The Benefits of Enterprise Architecture in Organizational Transformation, Business Impact Analysis, Business Case, [Benchmark Analysis]

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

The CGEIT Review Manual 8th Edition, in its Governance of Enterprise IT domain, emphasizes monitoring system performance against defined objectives, such as availability. Performance indicators, often tied to service level agreements (SLAs), provide specific, measurable data (e.g., system uptime percentage) to assess whether availability objectives are met. For example, a performance indicator showing 99.8% uptime directly informs the committee. The manual likely references COBIT 2019’s APO09-Managed Service Agreements, which prioritizes performance indicators for service monitoring.

Option A: Critical success factors (CSFs) define conditions for success but are less specific than performance metrics.

Option C: Capability maturity levels assess process maturity, not system availability.

Option D: Balanced scorecard provides a broad performance overview but is less focused on specific availability metrics.

Double Verification: The answer aligns with COBIT’s APO09 and the CGEIT domain’s focus on service performance. Performance indicators are the primary ISACA tool for availability assessment.

ISACA CGEIT Review Manual 8th Edition, Domain 1: Governance of Enterprise IT (focus on service monitoring).

COBIT 2019, APO09-Managed Service Agreements.

ISACA Glossary (for definitions of performance indicators), available at https://www.isaca.org/resources/glossary.

When assessing the implications of new external regulations on IT compliance, the first consideration should be the IT policies and procedures that need revision. This initial focus ensures that the foundational guidelines governing IT operations are aligned with the new regulatory requirements, forming the basis for compliance. While the resource burden for implementation, gaps in skills and experience of IT employees, and the impact on contracts with service providers are important considerations, they follow the primary step of ensuring that IT policies and procedures are in compliance with new regulations.

The enterprise’s data owner retains accountabilityfor the governance of data retention, even when the data is transferred to a third party. Outsourcing does not eliminate governance responsibilities; the data owner must ensure compliance with policies, regulations, and contractual terms, including how long data is retained and under what conditions.

While third parties execute controls,the enterprise remains accountable for the data and its governance outcomes.

This is because enterprise architecture (EA) is a practice that helps organizations align their IT systems and processes with their business objectives. EA provides a holistic and integrated viewof the current and future state of the organization’s IT infrastructure, as well as the gaps, issues, and opportunities for improvement1. By using EA, the organization can:

Identify and prioritize the IT investments that support the business strategy, goals, and needs1

Optimize the IT spending and maximize the IT value1

Ensure the IT quality, security, and compliance1

Avoid IT duplication, waste, and inefficiency1

Define IT roles and responsibilities and assign accountability1

EA can help the organization plan for the necessary IT investments in a systematic and structured way, and ensure that they are aligned with the business vision and value.

The other options, risk assessment report, business user satisfaction metrics, and audit findings are not as useful as enterprise architecture (EA) for planning for the necessary IT investments. They are more related to the evaluation and monitoring of the IT performance, rather than the planning and alignment of the IT strategy. They may also provide limited or partial information about the IT infrastructure, rather than a comprehensive and integrated view. They may also depend on external factors or standards that may not be relevant or applicable to the organization’s specific context and needs.

The most important consideration regarding IT measures as part of an IT strategic plan is that the metrics can be traced to enterprise goals. This alignment ensures that IT initiatives and performance metrics directly contribute to achieving the broader objectives of the organization, demonstrating the value of IT in supporting strategic outcomes. While data collection automation, realistic minimum target levels, and thresholds aligned to KRIs are important attributes of effective metrics, the ability to trace metrics back to enterprise goals is fundamental to ensuring strategic alignment and justifying IT investments.

Integrating IT security policies into individual performance objectives is the best way to support the objective of driving a cultural shift to enhance compliance with IT security policies. This is because performance objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals that define what each employee is expected to accomplish and how they will be evaluated1. By integrating IT security policies into performance objectives, the enterprise can:

Communicate the importance and value of IT security policies to each employee2

Motivate and incentivize employees to comply with IT security policies2

Monitor and measure employees’ compliance with IT security policies2

Provide feedback and recognition to employees who comply with IT security policies2

Identify and address any gaps or issues in employees’ compliance with IT security policies2

Integrating IT security policies into performance objectives can help to create a culture of accountability, responsibility, and awareness for IT security within the enterprise. It can also help to align the individual goals of employees with the organizational goals of IT governance.

The other options, communicating IT security policies on a regular basis, acknowledging and signing IT security policies by each employee, and centrally posting IT security policies with detailed instructions are not as effective as integrating IT security policies into performance objectives for supporting the objective of driving a cultural shift to enhance compliance with IT security policies. They are more related to the dissemination and implementation of IT security policies, rather than their integration and evaluation. They may not have a significant impact on the behavior and attitude of employees towards IT security policies, as they may not provide sufficient motivation, feedback, or recognition for compliance. They may also be perceived as passive, formal, or coercive methods of enforcing IT security policies, rather than active, informal, or collaborative methods of engaging employees in IT security policies. References := Performance Objectives - SMART Goals - BusinessBalls, How toIntegrate Security Into Employee Performance Objectives, IT Security Policy: Key Components & Best Practices for Every Business …

The best way to ensure that security risk is properly addressed when implementing an information security policy exception process is to confirm process owners’ acceptance of residual risk. Residual risk is the risk that remains after applying controls or mitigating measures to reduce the original risk1. Process owners are the individuals or groups that are responsible for the design, execution, and performance of a business process2. By confirming process owners’ acceptance of residual risk, the enterprise can ensure that the security risk associated with the policy exception is understood, acknowledged, and agreed upon by the relevant stakeholders. This can also help to assign accountability and liability for the potential consequences of the policy exception, as well as to monitor and review the risk level and the effectiveness of the controls or mitigating measures. The other options are not as effective as confirming process owners’ acceptance of residual risk for ensuring that security risk is properly addressed when implementing an information security policy exception process. Performing an internal and external network penetration test is a useful technique for identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities in the network infrastructure, but it does not address the specific security risk related to the policy exception. Obtaining IT security approval on security policy exceptions is a necessary step for validating and authorizing the policy exception, but it does not ensure that the process owners are aware of and accept the residual risk. Benchmarking policy against industry best practice is a good practice for comparing and improving the policy quality and performance, but it does not address the security risk associated with the policy exception.

Adding the achievement of specific competencies to employee performance goals best supports an IT strategy committee's objective to align employee competencies with planned initiatives. This approach directly links employee development and performance evaluation to theacquisition of skills and knowledge required for the organization's strategic initiatives. By embedding competency development into performance goals, employees are incentivized to acquire the necessary skills, ensuring that the workforce is capable of supporting and executing strategic plans. While hiring students, specifying training hours, and requiring balanced scorecard training can contribute to skill development, integrating competency achievement into performance goals ensures a direct and measurable alignment with strategic needs.

To prevent an IT system from becoming obsolete before achieving its planned return on investment (ROI), it is crucial to manage the benefit realization throughout the entire lifecycle of the system. This approach involves continuously monitoring and adjusting the system to ensure it delivers the expected value and benefits from inception through decommissioning. This proactive management helps in adapting to changes in technology and business environments, thus extending the relevance and utility of the IT system. Obtaining independent assurance,defining IT and business goals, and ordering an external audit are important practices but do not directly address the ongoing management of the system's value delivery and adaptability over time.

Upon learning that business units have been independently procuring cloud services, the IT steering committee's best course of action is to define a procurement strategy based on business unit needs. This approach ensures that cloud service procurement aligns with the enterprise's overall IT strategy and governance policies while still addressing the specific requirements of individual business units. It fosters collaboration between IT and business units, ensuring that cloud services are vetted for compliance, security, and interoperability. Requiring cancellation, including business unit leadership in the EA review board, or limiting usage to open-source solutions may address aspects of the issue but do not provide a comprehensive strategy that aligns business needs with IT governance.

The best way for a CIO to ensure that the work of IT employees is aligned with approved IT directives is to include relevant IT goals in individual performance objectives. This means that the CIO should communicate the IT vision, mission, strategy and objectives to the IT staff and link them to their personal and professional development plans. By doing so, the CIO can motivate the IT employees to work toward the desired outcomes, monitor their progress and performance, provide feedback and recognition, and address any issues or gaps. Including relevant IT goals in individual performance objectives can also help to align the IT employees with the business needs and expectations, foster a culture of accountability and collaboration, and improve the quality and value of IT services12. References := How to Align Employee Performance With Organizational Goals, The Importance And Challenges Of Employee Alignment

The best way for IT to achieve compliance with regulatory requirements is to enforce IT policies and procedures that align with the compliance standards and guidelines. IT policies andprocedures are the documents that define the roles, responsibilities, rules, and expectations for the IT function and its activities. They help to ensure that the IT systems and processes are secure, reliable, efficient, and consistent with the business objectives and legal obligations. By enforcing IT policies and procedures, IT can demonstrate its compliance with regulatory requirements and avoid violations, penalties, or reputational damage. The other options are not as effective as enforcing IT policies and procedures for achieving compliance with regulatory requirements. Creating an IT project portfolio is a good practice for managing IT investments and resources, but it does not guarantee compliance with regulatory requirements. Reviewing an IT performance dashboard is a useful technique for monitoring and measuring IT performance and value delivery, but it does not ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. Reporting on IT audit findings and action plans is a necessary step for improving IT governance and control processes, but it does not achieve compliance with regulatory requirements. References := What is IT Compliance? - Checklist, Guidelines & More | Proofpoint US, 6 Common IT Compliance Standards (A Guide to the Basics), Here’s Why Regulatory Compliance is Important - Reciprocity