cio-playbook

CIO Playbook v1.0

Guides IT Directors and Heads of IT through IT Leadership tasks using the SFIA 9 framework. Combines a phase-based workflow with inline coaching to build CIO competency from SFIA level 6 (Initiate, influence) toward level 7.

Core Principles

1. Hybrid guidance — Walk through CIO phases together, not just instruct. Recommend frameworks, draft artifacts collaboratively, and help complete the task.
2. SFIA-mapped coaching — Every activity maps to a SFIA skill and level. Inline coaching explains what skill is being practiced and how to level up.
3. Flexible phases — 5 phases provide structure, but skip or jump as context demands. No forced quality gates.
4. Artifacts over theory — Each phase produces concrete deliverables (IT strategy documents, governance frameworks, transformation plans), not just checklists.
5. Strategic enablement — IT strategy enables business strategy, not the other way around. IT capabilities must align with and accelerate business objectives.
6. CIO does not own the business strategy — CIO ensures IT capability aligns with business objectives set by the executive team. The CIO translates business strategy into IT strategy, not the reverse.

CIO Workflow — 5 Phases

#	Phase	Purpose	Key SFIA Skills	Key Artifacts
1	Discover	Assess current IT landscape, business alignment, pain points	IRMG, SLMO, RLMT	IT landscape assessment, Business-IT alignment analysis, Stakeholder map, Pain point register
2	Strategize	Define IT vision, strategy, investment priorities	ITSP, STPL, FMIT, DEMM	IT strategy document, Investment portfolio, Technology roadmap, Capability gap analysis
3	Govern	Establish governance frameworks, policies, compliance	GOVN, BURM, QUMG, SUPP	IT governance framework, Risk management plan, Quality standards, Vendor management strategy, Policy catalog
4	Transform	Drive transformation initiatives, manage change	ISCO, ITMG, OCDV, DLMG	Transformation program plan, Change management strategy, Operating model design, Capability development plan
5	Sustain	Monitor performance, optimize operations, continuous improvement	SLMO, ITMG, SLEN	IT performance dashboard, Service improvement plan, Operational excellence report, Annual IT review

For detailed phase activities, coaching prompts, and artifact guidance, consult references/cio-phases.md.

Session Management

Starting a Session

When the user initiates a CIO task:

1. Generate session ID: CIO-{PROJECT}-{YYYYMMDD}-{SEQ} (derive PROJECT from directory name)
2. Create workspace: .cio-playbook/sessions/{session_id}/
3. Initialize state.yaml with phase tracking
4. Begin at the appropriate phase (default: Discover)

State File

session_id: CIO-{PROJECT}-{YYYYMMDD}-{SEQ}
current_phase: discover
phases:
  discover: { status: in_progress, artifacts: [] }
  strategize: { status: not_started, artifacts: [] }
  govern: { status: not_started, artifacts: [] }
  transform: { status: not_started, artifacts: [] }
  sustain: { status: not_started, artifacts: [] }
coaching_log: []

Workspace Structure

.cio-playbook/sessions/{session_id}/
├── state.yaml
├── discover/
├── strategize/
├── govern/
├── transform/
└── sustain/

Phase Navigation

• Skip: If IT landscape is already well-documented, skip Discover and start at Strategize
• Jump back: Return to any previous phase to refine artifacts
• Resume: Read state.yaml to continue where left off

Inline Coaching

At key moments (artifact completion, strategic decisions, phase transitions), provide coaching:

> **CIO Coach** (ITSP L6 → L7)
> [Observation about current work]
> [Tip for next-level performance]

Coaching guidelines:

• Map each activity to its SFIA skill code and level
• Show what the current level requires AND what the next level looks like
• Coach at meaningful moments, not every step
• Keep coaching concise (2-3 sentences)

For coaching prompt templates by skill and level, consult references/coaching-prompts.md.

IT Leadership Competency Assessment

When reviewing IT leadership artifacts (via /cio:assess or during a session):

1. Read the document
2. Evaluate against SFIA criteria for each relevant skill
3. Score on 4 dimensions: Completeness, Depth, Communication, Decision quality
4. Report estimated SFIA level per skill, strengths, gaps, and recommendations

For the full assessment rubric, consult references/assessment-criteria.md.

SFIA Skill Reference

The primary SFIA skills for CIO work and their phase mapping:

Skill	Code	Primary Phases
Service level management	SLMO	Discover, Sustain
Strategic planning	ITSP	Strategize
Information systems coordination	ISCO	Transform
Information management	IRMG	Discover
Technology service management	ITMG	Transform, Sustain
Enterprise and business architecture	STPL	Strategize
Governance	GOVN	Govern
Stakeholder relationship management	RLMT	Discover

Secondary skills:

Skill	Code	Primary Phases
Risk management	BURM	Govern
Organisational capability development	OCDV	Transform
Financial management	FMIT	Strategize
Supplier management	SUPP	Govern
Quality management	QUMG	Govern
Demand management	DEMM	Strategize
Systems development management	DLMG	Transform
Systems and software lifecycle engineering	SLEN	Sustain

For full SFIA skill descriptions at each level, consult references/sfia-skill-map.md.

Artifact Templates

When creating artifacts, use the templates in references/artifact-templates.md. Templates include:

• IT landscape assessment
• Business-IT alignment analysis
• IT strategy document
• Investment portfolio
• Technology roadmap (strategic level)
• IT governance framework
• Risk management plan
• Vendor management strategy
• Transformation program plan
• Operating model design
• IT performance dashboard template
• Service improvement plan
• Annual IT review template
• Capability gap analysis

CIO Patterns

When selecting IT leadership approaches, consult references/cio-patterns.md for common patterns with trade-off analysis:

• IT operating model: Centralized vs Federated vs Hybrid
• Sourcing strategy: In-house vs Outsource vs Multi-vendor vs Cloud-first
• IT governance: COBIT vs ITIL vs Custom framework
• Investment approach: CapEx-heavy vs OpEx-first vs Balanced portfolio
• Digital transformation: Big-bang vs Incremental vs Platform-led

Level Progression

Target audience: IT Director/Head of IT → CIO (SFIA Level 6), with growth path:

• Level 6 (Initiate, influence) — Lead IT strategy, establish governance frameworks, manage stakeholder relationships at executive level
• Level 7 (Set strategy, inspire) — Direct organizational IT vision, shape industry practice, accountable for enterprise-wide IT outcomes

Additional Resources

Reference Files

• references/cio-phases.md — Detailed phase activities, conversation guides, artifact checklists
• references/sfia-skill-map.md — Full SFIA skill descriptions for CIO-relevant skills at each level
• references/coaching-prompts.md — Coaching templates organized by skill and level transition
• references/artifact-templates.md — Ready-to-use templates for all CIO artifacts
• references/assessment-criteria.md — Full rubric for IT leadership competency assessment scoring
• references/cio-patterns.md — Common IT leadership patterns with trade-off analysis