COBIT-Design-and-Implementation ISACA COBIT2019 Design and Implementation certificate Question and Answers

The primary benefit or output derived from setting targeted capability levels and performing a capability-level gap analysis for selected processes is the identification of process improvement opportunities. This analysis helps to pinpoint specific areas where processes can be enhanced to achieve the desired capability levels.

Setting targeted capability levels and conducting a capability-level gap analysis allows an enterprise to:

Identify gaps between current and desired process capabilities.

Highlight areas where processes are underperforming.

Prioritize improvement initiatives to close these gaps.

COBIT 2019 Framework References:

COBIT 2019 Design Guide, Chapter 2:Discusses the use of capability levels and gap analysis to identify and prioritize process improvement opportunities.

COBIT 2019 Implementation Guide, Chapter 5:Provides guidance on conducting capability-level gap analyses to drive process improvements.

By identifying process improvement opportunities through capability-level gap analysis, the enterprise can systematically enhance its processes, leading to better performance and alignment with business objectives.

The COBIT® 2019 Design Guide describes the COBIT goals cascade as the mechanism for translating enterprise goals into governance and management objectives. The guide clearly states that this translation must begin with prioritized enterprise goals, not generic or selective lists.

Prioritization ensures that governance design focuses on what matters most to the enterprise, given its strategy, risk profile, and context. Without prioritization, governance systems risk becoming overly broad, complex, or misaligned with business value.

Generic enterprise goals represent the full COBIT catalog and are not specific enough to guide design decisions. Risk-based goals are an important input but do not replace enterprise-wide prioritization. Selective goals lack formal weighting and may omit critical dependencies.

By starting with prioritized enterprise goals, the governance designer can systematically identify relevant alignment goals and then map them to governance and management objectives. This structured approach is explicitly recommended in COBIT 2019 and ensures traceability, focus, and value-driven governance design.

COBIT 2019 emphasizes:

"Defining enterprise goals is foundational to designing a governance system, as these goals drive the selection and prioritization of governance and management objectives."

Without clearly defined enterprise goals, planning cannot proceed effectively.

In COBIT 2019, the prioritization of governance objectives is essential to ensure that the most critical aspects of IT governance receive the necessary focus and resources. A matrixed scoring methodology is considered the best enabler for prioritizing governance objectives because it provides a structured, systematic, and quantifiable approach to evaluating and ranking various governance objectives based on multiple criteria.

Detailed Explanation with References:

IT Strategic Plan (Option A):

The IT strategic plan outlines the strategic direction and objectives of IT within the organization. While it provides guidance on long-term goals and initiatives, it does not offer a detailed mechanism for prioritizing specific governance objectives.

Matrixed Scoring Methodology (Option B):

A matrixed scoring methodology allows the organization to evaluate governance objectives against a set of predefined criteria such as strategic alignment, risk impact, resource availability, and expected benefits. This methodology helps in objectively assessing and comparing the importance and urgency of different governance objectives. By assigning scores to each criterion, organizations can create a prioritized list based on overall scores, ensuring that the most critical and impactful objectives are addressed first.

This approach is comprehensive and takes into account multiple factors, providing a balanced and transparent means of prioritizing objectives. It enables decision-makers to justify their choices and ensures that prioritization is aligned with the organization's strategic goals and risk profile.

Enterprise's Risk Tolerance (Option C):

The enterprise's risk tolerance is an important factor in governance decisions, as it defines the level of risk the organization is willing to accept. However, while it influences prioritization, it is not a standalone methodology for prioritizing governance objectives. Risk tolerance must be considered within a broader context of criteria, which a matrixed scoring methodology can effectively encompass.

Expected Performance Outcomes (Option D):

Expected performance outcomes are crucial for evaluating the success of governance initiatives, but they do not provide a methodology for prioritizing objectives. They are one of the factors that can be included in a matrixed scoring methodology to assess the potential impact and value of each objective.

Conclusion:The correct answer isB. A matrixed scoring methodology. This method provides a robust, multi-criteria approach to prioritizing governance objectives, ensuring that decisions are made based on a balanced consideration of various relevant factors.

In the COBIT 2019 Design Guide, it is clearly stated that:

"The more quantitative approach involves numeric mapping tables created for each design factor. The mapping tables quantify the descriptive values associated with each design factor, in order to indicate their correlation with governance and management objectives."

These mapping tables typically contain values ranging from zero (0) to four (4), where four indicates maximum relevance of a governance or management objective with that particular design factor value, and zero indicates no relevance.

The program steering committee is responsible for monitoring the achievement of the overall EGIT (Enterprise Governance of Information and Technology) implementation program plan results, including the achievement of goals and realization of benefits.

The program steering committee provides oversight and governance for the EGIT implementation program. This committee ensures that the program is aligned with strategic objectives, monitors progress, and ensures that the desired benefits are realized. They are accountable for the overall success of the implementation.

COBIT 2019 Framework References:

COBIT 2019 Implementation Guide, Chapter 7:Details the roles and responsibilities of the program steering committee in overseeing the implementation of the governance system.

COBIT 2019 Design Guide, Chapter 4:Emphasizes the importance of having a steering committee to provide strategic direction and oversight for the implementation program.

By having the program steering committee monitor the achievement of the EGIT program plan, the enterprise ensures that there is accountability and alignment with business goals.

When DevOps is selected as the IT implementation method design factor, COBIT® 2019 emphasizes continuous integration, automation, and rapid solution delivery. The Design Guide indicates that DevOps environments require strong governance over solution identification, development, and build practices.

BAI03 (Managed Solution Identification and Build) directly supports these needs by ensuring that solutions are designed, built, tested, and maintained in a controlled yet agile manner. While change transitioning (BAI07) and operational objectives remain important, DevOps shifts responsibility earlier in the lifecycle toward build and integration activities.

DSS02 and BAI04 focus on operational stability rather than rapid delivery. Therefore, under DevOps, BAI03 becomes a priority management objective to ensure quality, speed, and alignment with business requirements.

The COBIT 2019 Implementation Guide notes:

"A major barrier to EGIT success is the failure to clearly articulate the business case—specifically, justifying cost in relation to perceived benefits. Without this, executive support may not be sustained."

Justification of investment is critical to gaining and maintaining support for governance initiatives.

According to the COBIT 2019 Design Guide:

"When outsourcing is selected as the sourcing model, managing relationships with external vendors becomes a top governance and management priority to ensure service quality, compliance, and accountability."

This makesAPO08 Managed Relationshipsthe essential management objective for ensuring outsourcing success. While security and performance are important, managing relationships is the core requirement in an outsourced model.

The initial governance design process involves gathering inputs from various stakeholders, including business units, IT, and external partners. These inputs can sometimes conflict, and it is crucial to resolve these conflicts to create a unified governance system that supports enterprise objectives.

Key Steps:

Stakeholder Alignment:Ensuring that all stakeholders are on the same page regarding priorities and objectives.

Conflict Resolution:Addressing and resolving any discrepancies or conflicts in inputs to ensure a consistent and aligned governance system.

Prioritization:Establishing clear priorities to guide decision-making and resource allocation.

COBIT 2019 Framework References:

COBIT 2019 Design Guide, Chapter 4:Discusses the importance of resolving conflicting inputs and establishing a cohesive governance framework that aligns with enterprise priorities.

COBIT 2019 Framework: Governance and Management Objectives:Emphasizes the need for alignment between IT and enterprise goals, requiring the resolution of any conflicting priorities.

Resolving conflicting inputs and priorities ensures that the governance system is well-aligned and effective in achieving enterprise goals.

COBIT 2019 Design Guide suggests:

"When prioritizing governance and management objectives, conflicts or inconsistencies may arise. These should be resolved with input from senior management or IT leadership to align with enterprise priorities."

Management of the IT function plays a key role in resolving such conflicts, especially at the design finalization stage.

The COBIT 2019 Design Guide explains:

"The outcome of assessing current capability versus target capability is the identification of capability gaps. These gaps indicate areas for potential improvement and feed directly into the planning and implementation stages."

Hence, the result of such an assessment is a list ofpotential improvements.

COBIT 2019 Design Guide clearly states:

"The threat landscape is influenced by various external and internal factors, including geopolitical instability, industry-specific threats, and regulatory environments."

Geopolitical issues can elevate the threat landscape to a high level, makingDthe correct answer.

COBIT 2019 highlights the importance ofexecutive leadershipand clear direction:

"Lack of strong and sustained management direction is a primary contributor to failure in large-scale governance or IT transformation initiatives."

Management direction encompasses setting vision, communicating goals, resolving conflicts, and ensuring alignment of resources. While the other options are important, they are symptomatic and secondary to the overarching need for effective management leadership. When this direction is weak, no amount of documentation or planning can rescue the initiative.

The stakeholders responsible for creating or updating EGIT objectives following the completion of the first iteration of an EGIT program implementation life cycle are the CIO and business executives. They have the strategic oversight and authority to set and adjust objectives based on the initial outcomes and evolving business needs.

The CIO and business executives play a critical role in ensuring that the EGIT (Enterprise Governance of Information and Technology) objectives are aligned with business strategy and goals. After the first iteration, their involvement is crucial to review progress, adjust objectives, and ensure continued alignment with enterprise priorities.

COBIT 2019 Framework References:

COBIT 2019 Implementation Guide, Chapter 7:Highlights the roles of senior management, including the CIO and business executives, in setting and updating EGIT objectives.

COBIT 2019 Design Guide, Chapter 4:Emphasizes the importance of executive involvement in governance system design and iterative improvement.

By engaging the CIO and business executives in this process, the enterprise ensures that EGIT objectives remain relevant and aligned with overall business strategy.

In COBIT 2019, ultimate accountability for governance decisions lies with the governing body or executive committee:

"The executive committee or board is ultimately accountable for the approval of IT governance principles, frameworks, structures, and objectives."

They ensure alignment with enterprise strategy and oversight.

In COBIT 2019 Implementation guidance:

"The Chief Information Officer (CIO) holds responsibility for ensuring the business case is aligned with enterprise objectives and that the program plan is both realistic and achievable, factoring in available resources and capabilities."

The CIO plays a strategic leadership role and has the oversight to balance technology, business needs, risks, and resources. Business process owners and implementation teams contribute, but they do not hold the final accountability for overall feasibility and alignment.

The final step in governance system design is to reconcile inherent priority conflicts. This ensures that all conflicting priorities among stakeholders are addressed and resolved to create a cohesive and aligned governance system.

The reconciliation of inherent priority conflicts is a critical final step to ensure that the designed governance system can effectively meet the needs and expectations of all stakeholders. This involves negotiating and balancing different priorities to ensure that the governance objectives are achievable and aligned with the enterprise’s strategic goals.

COBIT 2019 Framework References:

COBIT 2019 Design Guide, Chapter 5:Emphasizes the importance of addressing and reconciling priority conflicts to finalize the governance system design.

COBIT 2019 Implementation Guide, Chapter 7:Discusses the necessity of resolving conflicts and aligning objectives as part of the final steps in the governance system design process.

By reconciling priority conflicts, the enterprise ensures that the governance system is practical, balanced, and capable of delivering the desired outcomes.

The COBIT® 2019 Implementation Guide explains that the business case documents both the drivers for change and the intended future (to-be) state. In merger scenarios, the business case outlines how systems should be consolidated, what capabilities are required, and what outcomes are expected.

Board announcements communicate intent but lack operational detail. Capability assessments describe the current state. Third-party reviews provide independent opinions but do not define the enterprise’s desired future configuration.

The business case serves as the authoritative reference for scope, objectives, benefits, and target capabilities, making it the correct source for future-state details.

The COBIT 2019 framework outlines a structured approach to implementing Enterprise Governance of Information and Technology (EGIT). Understanding the impact of an improvement program on IT and the business, as well as maintaining the improvement momentum, is crucial during the execution stage of the EGIT implementation life cycle.

Detailed Explanation with References:

Initiating an EGIT Program (Option A):

At this initial stage, the focus is on understanding the current state, identifying stakeholders, and obtaining executive sponsorship. The primary activities involve setting objectives and scope rather than assessing impacts or maintaining momentum.

Defining the EGIT Implementation Road Map (Option B):

This stage involves planning the high-level steps and timeline for the EGIT implementation. While this includes identifying key milestones and dependencies, it is not the primary phase for determining the impact or maintaining momentum.

Developing the EGIT Implementation Program Plan (Option C):

Developing the program plan involves detailing the specific actions, resources, and responsibilities needed to implement the EGIT. It sets the foundation for execution but focuses more on preparation and organization rather than assessing impact or maintaining momentum.

Executing the EGIT Implementation Program Plan (Option D):

During execution, the organization puts the plan into action. This is the stage where the actual improvements are implemented, and their impacts on IT and the business can be observed and assessed. Maintaining the improvement momentum becomes critical as the changes start to take effect. Continuous monitoring, managing resistance, addressing issues, and ensuring that the improvements are sustained are key activities during this phase.

Conclusion:The correct answer isD. When executing the EGIT implementation program plan. At this stage, the enterprise is actively implementing the changes, and it is crucial to determine the impact on IT and the business, as well as to maintain the improvement momentum to ensure the success and sustainability of the program.

“Challenge: Lack of required skills and competencies…” → “Root causes: … Business and management skills often not included in training …”

COBIT 2019 identifies governance system components, which include processes, organizational structures, policies and procedures, information flows, culture, ethics and behavior, skills, and infrastructure.

"Governance system components are the elements required to build and sustain a governance system. Examples include the risk register, policies, organizational structures, etc."

The risk register is a specific component that provides information used in governance processes.

The target audience for the COBIT 2019 Design Guide includes a wide range of direct and indirect stakeholders involved in the governance and management of enterprise IT. This comprehensive approach ensures that the design of governance solutions is inclusive, addressing the needs and perspectives of various parties who are impacted by or have an interest in IT governance.

Detailed Explanation with References:

Direct Stakeholders:

Governance Professionals: These individuals are directly responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining governance systems. They use the COBIT 2019 Design Guide to ensure that governance frameworks are well-structured and aligned with enterprise objectives.

IT Management: Professionals who manage IT services, operations, and resources use the guide to align IT initiatives with governance objectives and to integrate best practices into daily operations.

Indirect Stakeholders:

Assurance Professionals: While not the primary audience, assurance professionals such as internal and external auditors use the guide to understand the governance framework and assess its effectiveness.

Business Leaders and Executives: These stakeholders use the guide to understand how IT governance supports business goals and to ensure that IT investments deliver value.

Regulatory Bodies and Compliance Officers: They refer to the guide to ensure that governance systems meet regulatory requirements and standards.

Other Organizational Functions: Departments such as finance, human resources, and legal may also reference the guide to understand their role in IT governance and how it intersects with their functions.

Conclusion:The correct answer isB. includes a range of direct and indirect stakeholders. This reflects the inclusive nature of the COBIT 2019 Design Guide, which is designed to be used by various stakeholders involved in the governance and management of IT.

In the process of refining the scope of the governance system, determining whether or not each design factor is applicable is a critical step. This step ensures that the governance system is tailored to the specific needs and context of the enterprise.

References in COBIT 2019 Design and Implementation:

COBIT 2019 Design Guide, Chapter 2:This chapter outlines the importance of assessing each design factor's applicability to ensure that the governance system is relevant and effective.

COBIT 2019 Framework: Introduction and Methodology, Chapter 4:This chapter emphasizes the need to refine the governance system's scope based on the specific design factors relevant to the enterprise.

By determining the applicability of design factors, enterprises can focus on the most pertinent aspects, ensuring a tailored and efficient governance system.

COBIT® 2019 explicitly recognizes compliance requirements as a core design factor that significantly influences governance system design. Enterprises operating in highly regulated environments must place stronger emphasis on compliance-related governance and management objectives, controls, and assurance mechanisms.

The Design Guide consistently uses the financial sector as a canonical example of a high-compliance environment due to stringent regulatory oversight related to data protection, financial reporting, risk management, anti-money laundering, and operational resilience. Banks, insurance companies, and investment firms are subject to continuous regulatory scrutiny and mandatory audits, making compliance a dominant governance driver.

While public sector organizations also face regulatory requirements, the level, consistency, and enforcement intensity vary widely by jurisdiction. Educational and nonprofit sectors typically operate under fewer mandatory compliance regimes and therefore are not categorized as high-compliance by default.

COBIT emphasizes that in high-compliance environments, governance design must prioritize objectives related to compliance monitoring, internal control, assurance, and risk optimization. This directly aligns with the characteristics of the financial sector, making it the correct answer.

The COBIT 2019 Design Guide emphasizes:

"Adopting centralized IT structures and outsourcing can significantly increase exposure to external threats, third-party dependencies, and compliance complexity—thereby elevating the threat landscape."

A more centralized and outsourced environment implies shared systems, external service providers, and expanded attack surfaces, all contributing to heightened threat scenarios that must be managed through governance priorities.

When assessing the current state of I&T, a continual improvement task includes identifying potential process improvements. This task is essential for ensuring that IT processes remain efficient, effective, and aligned with business goals.

References in COBIT 2019 Design and Implementation:

COBIT 2019 Framework: Governance and Management Objectives, BAI10 (Managed Continuous Improvement):This objective focuses on the importance of continually assessing and improving IT processes to enhance performance and value delivery.

COBIT 2019 Implementation Guide, Chapter 5:This chapter discusses the need for continuous improvement initiatives, including the identification of potential process improvements to optimize IT performance.

By continually identifying and implementing process improvements, enterprises can ensure that their IT functions remain competitive and capable of supporting evolving business needs.

COBIT® 2019 identifies enterprise strategy archetypes as a key design factor for tailoring governance systems. Nonprofit organizations typically prioritize mission continuity, reliability, and predictable service delivery over aggressive growth, innovation, or cost leadership.

The stability strategy archetype aligns with organizations that aim to maintain consistent operations, manage risks prudently, and ensure dependable support for core services. For nonprofits, improving IT service delivery usually means enhancing reliability, availability, and user satisfaction rather than pursuing innovation or expansion.

Cost is always a consideration, but it is not an enterprise strategy archetype in COBIT 2019. Growth and innovation strategies are more applicable to competitive or commercial enterprises seeking market expansion or differentiation.

The Design Guide emphasizes that governance systems must reflect organizational purpose and constraints. A stability-focused strategy drives governance priorities toward service continuity, risk control, and operational effectiveness—making it the most relevant design factor for a nonprofit improving IT service delivery.

In COBIT 2019 Implementation Guide:

"The internal audit function should provide independent advice during governance design. They help validate assessments and contribute insights on prioritizing gaps based on risk and control perspectives."

This ensures objectivity and alignment with assurance functions.

In COBIT® 2019, the threat landscape design factor evaluates the severity and likelihood of external and internal threats that could materially impact enterprise objectives. A high threat landscape is characterized by factors that increase uncertainty, instability, or exposure to disruptive events beyond normal operational risks.

Geopolitical situations—such as regional conflicts, sanctions, trade restrictions, political instability, or cross-border regulatory changes—are explicitly recognized as high-impact external threats. These conditions can affect data sovereignty, supply chains, system availability, and regulatory compliance simultaneously, making them a strong indicator of a high threat landscape.

By contrast, IT trends represent opportunities, not threats. New competitors reflect market dynamics rather than direct threat exposure. Service delivery problems from outsourcers are operational issues already captured under I&T-related issues, not threat landscape classification.

The Design Guide stresses that when the threat landscape is high, enterprises should emphasize resilience, security, assurance, and risk-focused governance design. Geopolitical risk is therefore a clear and valid reason to classify the threat landscape as high.

The COBIT 2019 framework aligns enterprise goals with balanced scorecard (BSC) dimensions. Under thegrowth and innovationBSC perspective, one of the core enterprise goals listed is:

"Product and business innovation" – which directly supports strategic growth by encouraging new products, services, and ways of operating.

This goal aligns with an enterprise that is expanding and looking to leverage innovation to sustain growth. Other options like risk management or cost optimization fit different BSC dimensions (e.g., financial, internal process).

The COBIT 2019 Implementation Guide specifies:

"The change enablement component addresses behavioral and cultural aspects of the implementation or improvement initiative. It is key to achieving commitment and reducing resistance to change."

Therefore, change enablement is focused on culture and behavior, not organizational structures or technical implementation details.

It is critical to perform a due diligence review following a merger, acquisition, or divestiture. Such events involve significant changes to the organizational structure, assets, and operations, necessitating thorough review to identify risks, synergies, and compliance issues.

References in COBIT 2019 Design and Implementation:

COBIT 2019 Framework: Governance and Management Objectives, APO12 (Managed Risk):This objective emphasizes the importance of risk management during significant organizational changes, such as mergers and acquisitions.

COBIT 2019 Implementation Guide, Chapter 3:This chapter outlines the need for due diligence in evaluating potential risks and ensuring that governance and management practices are adapted to new organizational contexts.

A due diligence review ensures that all aspects of the merger, acquisition, or divestiture are carefully assessed, mitigating risks and supporting a smooth transition.

The role of the board when establishing where the enterprise wants to be is to set priorities, time scales, and expectations. This ensures that the strategic direction and goals are clearly defined and communicated across the organization.

References in COBIT 2019 Design and Implementation:

COBIT 2019 Framework: Governance and Management Objectives, EDM01 (Ensure Governance Framework Setting and Maintenance):This objective outlines the board's responsibilities in setting the strategic direction, including priorities, timeframes, and expectations.

COBIT 2019 Implementation Guide, Chapter 3:This chapter emphasizes the board's role in defining the enterprise's strategic goals and ensuring that these goals are aligned with governance and management practices.

By setting clear priorities, time scales, and expectations, the board ensures that the enterprise has a focused and coherent strategy for achieving its desired future state.

During Phase 2 – Where are we now? of the COBIT® 2019 implementation lifecycle, the objective is to establish an objective and accurate view of the current state. The CIO is accountable for ensuring that this assessment is transparent, evidence-based, and unbiased, covering IT processes, services, performance, and capabilities.

While representing the business view is important, that responsibility is shared across stakeholders and business leadership. Resource allocation and legal considerations become more prominent in later phases when defining and executing the target state.

The Implementation Guide emphasizes that without transparency in the current-state assessment, governance improvements risk being based on assumptions rather than facts. The CIO plays a central role in enabling visibility across IT activities and ensuring that assessment results are credible and trusted by stakeholders.

Therefore, ensuring a transparent assessment of IT activities is the CIO’s primary responsibility at this stage.

When adapting the goals cascade of the COBIT 2019 framework, an enterprise with a growth strategy is most likely to select the enterprise goal "Portfolio of competitive products and services." This goal aligns with the enterprise’s focus on growth through innovation and market competitiveness.

In COBIT 2019, the goals cascade is used to translate stakeholder needs into specific, actionable goals for IT governance and management. For an enterprise with a growth strategy, focusing on a competitive portfolio ensures that the organization is continually innovating and improving its products and services to capture market share and drive growth.

COBIT 2019 Framework References:

COBIT 2019 Framework: Introduction and Methodology, Chapter 5:Describes the goals cascade and how it aligns enterprise goals with IT-related goals and enablers.

COBIT 2019 Design Guide, Chapter 2:Discusses how to adapt the goals cascade based on the enterprise's strategic objectives, such as growth.

By selecting the goal "Portfolio of competitive products and services," the enterprise can ensure that its IT initiatives support and drive its growth strategy.