IT Management Excellence

Why Attend

Managing an IT function is very different from developing or supporting technical IT solutions. General management skills are helpful to the IT manager, but results from this course demonstrate that a management course designed specifically for the IT professional is invaluable.

The IT Management Excellence course is first and foremost a practical and interactive course. It combines trainer experience with that of over 2,000 past participants and has identified the most valuable lessons on the road to delivering exceptional IT management and business results. The course delivers a proven combination of models and guidelines, supported by carefully designed, enjoyable and interactive role plays, case studies and team exercises.

There are five key modules covering IT strategy, project excellence, communicating technology, operational and crisis management and commercial acumen. These are the 5 management skills that have been identified as consistently enabling business results and career success for all IT managers.

Overview

Course Outline

Schedule & Fees

Course Methodology

This course uses a mixture of presentations, discussions, case studies, videos, role-plays and interactive exercises to transform participants’ knowledge into hands-on practice.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

Develop an effective IT strategy
Increase project delivery rates and manage a portfolio of projects
Improve operational efficiency using different operational models
Lead effectively in a technical crisis
Create effective sourcing plans
Set clear IT contract objectives
Effectively negotiate technical agreements

Target Audience

The IT Management Excellence course is targeted at IT managers and team leaders who are looking to develop their career in management and leadership. Job titles often include IT Manager, IT Team Leader, Project Manager, Systems Architect, Head of (IT) Department and more.

Target Competencies

Business and IT strategy
Project, program and portfolio management
Advanced communication and presentation skills
IT operational excellence
Planning and managing a crisis event

Business and IT strategy

Business strategy

What is strategy?
Solving the problems of business strategy
Leading approaches to creating top level strategy
Case study ‘Setting corporate direction’

IT strategy

A proven process for IT strategy
Aligning IT strategy to business priorities
Balanced scorecard IT objectives
Enterprise architecture in IT strategy
Looking for a better way — optimizing IT strategy
Strategic plans — plot on a page
Communicating strategy

Project excellence

Advanced project, program and portfolio management

Validating project business cases using investment appraisals and sensitivity analysis
IT project management wisdom — lessons learned from successful and failed projects
Effective project governance and reporting
Project portfolio management guidelines

The first 90 days

Making an impact — the first 90 days
Strategic importance and tactical urgency
Case study ‘Priorities of the new IT director’

Business change leadership

The emotional cycle of business change
Guidelines for successful change projects
IT's unique role in business change management

Communicating technology

Communication skills

The art of communicating technology
Presenting IT to non-technical audiences
Creating a compelling technology message — IT’s elevator pitch
Handling difficult (IT) situations — forum theatre and role play
Group debate — What has IT ever done for us?

Business relationship management

Business relationship scenarios
The POSTMAN technique for identifying priority business requirements
The advanced use of questioning strategies – opening and closing dialogue
Methods of influencing outcomes

Operational and crisis management

Continual Service Improvement (CSI) models

Overview of different frameworks, including ITIL, Six Sigma and Lean IT
Techniques of root cause analysis
CSI examples and guidelines

Crisis leadership

Preparing for major (technology) incidents
Managing major incidents
Leading in crisis — the art of communication
Role play ‘Handling difficult situations’ — media simulation

Commercial acumen

Vendors

Making good decisions
Avoiding supplier pitfalls
Choosing good technology partners
Creating a culture of partnership
Harnessing vendor innovation

Essentials of IT contracts

Contract guidelines for successful IT
Getting what you want from your legal team
Designing contract flexibility
Managing IT contract portfolios

IT negotiation strategy

Creating a negotiation strategy
Rational supporting arguments
Agreeing final positions and BATNA
Negotiating as a team
Delivering better negotiated outcomes
Negotiation role plays and case studies

Cape Town

Cape Town (South Africa)2025-10-20$2100

Arusha

Arusha (Tanzania)2026-05-18$1995