In this phase targets and metrics are defined on three levels: what the business areas expect from the IT, what the IT process is intended to deliver and what level of efficiency is expected within the process cycle. In this context quality must clearly have precedence over quantity when defining the metrics so the defined metrics should show a good ratio between cost and relevance, allow for internal and external comparison and be easy to measure. However, metrics should not be confused with the objectives.

The objective is to permanently anchor continual improvement on all levels. A perpetual cycle of continuous improvement which takes place in accordance with the “Plan, Do, Check, Act” principle. The IT governance dashboard provides a permanent overview of the level of service quality delivered, the execution status of the controlling measures and consequently the corresponding, current compliance situation. The service, process and activity objectives help to identify potential for improvement and, as such, make a key contribution towards the IT business alignment which is actively pursued and seen to be pursued.