In 1996, the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), and the IT Governance Institute (ITGI) first released a set of best practices (framework) for IT management called the Control Objectives for Information and related Technologies (CobIT). Since then, CobIT has continued to be enhanced, with the most recent version referred to as CobIT Version 4.1.

CobIT focuses on four high level stages of IT Governance: 

1.      Plan and Organize:  This stage of IT Governance focuses on defining the strategic IT plan, determining technology directions, and defining IT processes, organization and relationships. Further, it is the responsibility of the governance board to manage the IT investment, communicate management aims and direction, manage IT human resources and manage all projects including quality and inherent potential risk.

2.      Acquire and Implement: This stage focuses on identifying IT requirements, acquiring and implementing what is required based on current business practices, and the development of a maintenance plan in order to prolong the life of an IT system. 

3.      Deliver and Support:  This stage focuses on the delivery and support aspects of systems. Within this domain resides areas such as the execution of the applications, and the support processes that enable the effective and efficient execution of these systems. Included within this responsibility are security and training issues.

4.      Monitor and Evaluate: This stage focuses on continuously monitoring and confirming that IT strategy remains consistent with the objectives with which it was designed and the evaluation of the effectiveness of IT systems to meet the business objectives of the company.