Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are members of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity. ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work.

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For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html. In the IEC, see www.iec.ch/understanding-standards.

This document was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology, Subcommittee SC 40, IT service management and IT governance.

This first edition of ISO/IEC TS 38501-2, together with the first edition of ISO/IEC 38501-1, cancel and replace the first edition of ISO/IEC TS 38501:2015, which has been technically revised.

The main changes are as follows:

the content has been aligned to take updates to ISO/IEC 38500:2024 into account;
Annex A (assessment scheme) and Annex B (sample characteristics by principle) have been moved to ISO/IEC TS 38501-2 (this document) to facilitate alignment and use with ISO/IEC 38503.

A list of all parts in the ISO/IEC 38501 series can be found on the ISO and IEC websites.

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html and www.iec.ch/national-committees.

Introduction

The measurement of performance is an essential aspect when implementing the governance of IT in the organization. It helps the governing body understand how well the organization is achieving its governance of IT objectives and provides critical insights into the areas for improvement, thereby helping the governing body to make informed decisions and allocate resources effectively.

ISO/IEC 38500 is a principles-based standard for the governance of IT. It is therefore crucial that an appropriate assessment scheme, which enables the organization to define the practices, evidence of success and outcomes that are appropriate for the organization, be used. Once this is in place, the organization will be able to effectively measure its performance towards the achievement of its governance of IT objectives.

1 Scope

This document provides guidance on the assessment scheme to be used when implementing the governance of IT in organizations in accordance with ISO/IEC 38500 and ISO/IEC 38501-1.

It establishes the assessment framework and rating scale appropriate for principles-based governance of IT, and provides sample governance of IT characteristics for each of the 11 principles listed in ISO/IEC 38500 (see Annex A).

This document can be used by individuals responsible for governance of IT in an organization, as well as individuals supporting the governance of IT in organizations, and is applicable to organizations of all sizes and types.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Assessment scheme for the governance of IT

4.1 General

4.2 Assessment framework

4.3 Rating scale

4.4 Assessment scheme

Bibliography