UNICC Helps UNMISS FTS Earn COBIT®5 Certification

16 April, 2019

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Photo: UN/Billy

UNICC Learning has supported another successful rollout of COBIT 5 certification, this time in South Sudan. Globally, organizations are under increasing pressure to deliver value and manage risk. Effective IT governance, which includes implementing processes and organizational structures, is clearly required to ensure IT supports the Organization’s overall strategy and objectives. Keeping this in mind, COBIT 5, launched in 2012, incorporates the most up-to-date techniques for governance and management by bringing together COBIT 4.1, Val IT and Risk IT into one single framework.

COBIT 5 is among the many IT-related courses offered through the UNICC Learning Services Group in the Global Service Centre. Missions are welcome to request any available course in the UNICC Shared Learning: Course Schedule at All ICC Locations 2019. For details contact [email protected].

The Field Technology Section (FTS)/Geospatial, Information and Telecommunications Technologies Section (GITTS) of UNMISS (United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan) organized a first-of-its-kind COBIT 5 Foundation course together with a certification examination at its Juba headquarters in 2018, where 13 FTS GITTS Officers from Juba Headquarters and all field offices participated.

The objective was to allow FTS officials to explore the key elements and principles of the framework and to gain an understanding of the governance of an enterprise IT.

UMISS organized this training with the help of the UNICC Learning Services Group in the Global Service Centre. Unique was the fact that UNMISS wanted the training in Juba and most trainers were not willing to come to South Sudan because of the perceived security situation. Finally, UNICC secured a well-seasoned trainer from the UK who delivered the training in such a way that the concepts were appreciated by one and all.

The team was selected based on the category of middle managers (FS6/P3). The purpose was their staff development as future senior managers. This was viewed to help develop the staff from a process perspective to a strategy view of FTS operations.

The motivation to have the training was based on the organizational direction to embrace the Field Technology Framework and governance principles. It was important for UNMISS middle managers to know their roles and their responsibility to drive improvements in FTS operations.

During the three-day training, FTS staff learned how to successfully govern and manage enterprise IT with COBIT 5

Specifically, participants learned about:

  • Major drivers for the development of a Framework
  • Business benefits of using COBIT 5
  • COBIT 5 Product Architecture
  • IT management issues and challenges that affect enterprises
  • 5 Key Principles of COBIT 5 for the governance and management of Enterprise IT
  • COBIT 5 enables IT to be governed and managed in a holistic manner for the entire enterprise
  • Key concepts in a Process Capability Assessment and the key attributes of the COBIT 5 PAM (Process Assessment Model)
  • How COBIT 5 processes and the Process Reference Model (PRM) help guide the creation of the 5 Principles and the 7 Governance and Management Enablers

Certification examination

The COBIT 5 Foundation examination is closed-book and paper-based, consisting of 50 multiple-choice questions to be answered within 40 minutes. A minimum of 25 marks or more is required to pass. With only 48 seconds per question, the exam not only focuses on proving knowledge of the framework but also time-management skills. Commendably, the PASS rate for UNMISS was 100 per cent, and APMG International issued a badge to all successful participants.

The examination certifies and proves the ability of participants to:

  • Utilize the COBIT 5 framework to achieve world-class governance of enterprise IT
  • Help bridge the IT department with the wider business through a common language
  • Maximize the value generated by enterprise IT
  • Align IT with the strategic goals of a business
  • Understand business requirements, mission objectives and their priorities
  • Enable organizations to achieve compliance with relevant laws, regulations, contractual agreements and policies
  • Improve an organization’s integration of information security.

See more at: https://ft.dfs.un.org/unmiss-fts-earns-cobit%C2%AE5-certification.