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8-Week Learning Pathway

This structured pathway organizes the primer's content into a progressive 8-week reading plan aligned with the typical pace of a semester course. Each week focuses on a theme, includes 2-3 readings (~40-60 minutes total), and provides a discussion prompt to deepen engagement.

How to Use This Pathway

  • Each week's readings build on previous weeks, but individual pages are self-contained
  • Estimated reading times are provided on each page
  • Discussion prompts can be used for self-reflection, study groups, or classroom discussion
  • This pathway covers all 24 content pages across the primer's 5 sections

Week 1: Governance Foundations

Focus: How organizations structure IT decision-making and accountability

Reading Section Est. Time
Governance Frameworks IT Governance 20 min
C-Suite IT Roles IT Governance 15 min
IT-Business Alignment IT Governance 15 min

Discussion prompt: Why do organizations need formal IT governance frameworks rather than simply letting business units make their own technology decisions?

Week 2: Technology Landscape

Focus: The foundational technology concepts every business leader should understand

Reading Section Est. Time
Technical Literacy for Business Leaders Enterprise Technology 20 min
Enterprise Architecture Enterprise Technology 25 min
Enterprise Applications Enterprise Technology 20 min

Discussion prompt: How does understanding enterprise architecture help a non-technical business leader make better technology investment decisions?

Week 3: Infrastructure and Cloud

Focus: Where systems live — from physical data centers to cloud services

Reading Section Est. Time
Data Center Fundamentals Enterprise Technology 25 min
Cloud Computing Strategy Enterprise Technology 25 min

Discussion prompt: Under what circumstances should an organization keep workloads on-premises rather than migrating to the cloud? What factors drive that decision?

Week 4: Economics and Sourcing Decisions

Focus: How organizations make and fund technology investment decisions

Reading Section Est. Time
IT Budgeting & Finance IT Governance 15 min
IT Spending Economics IT Governance 20 min
Make vs. Buy Decision Frameworks Enterprise Technology 15 min

Discussion prompt: How should a CIO balance "Run the Business" spending against "Grow" and "Transform" investments when legacy systems consume an increasing share of the IT budget?

Week 5: Risk, Security, and Governance

Focus: Managing technology risk as a business leader

Reading Section Est. Time
Cybersecurity for Managers Risk & Security 30 min
Data Governance Risk & Security 20 min
Shadow IT Risk & Security 15 min

Discussion prompt: The SEC now requires public companies to disclose material cyber incidents within four business days. How should a board prepare for this obligation?

Week 6: Transformation and AI

Focus: How technology drives organizational change and competitive strategy

Reading Section Est. Time
Digital Transformation Transformation 20 min
AI & Emerging Technology Transformation 25 min
Platform Economics IT Governance 15 min

Discussion prompt: As AI models become commoditized, where does competitive advantage come from? How should a mid-size company approach AI strategy differently from a tech giant?

Week 7: Analytics, Process, and Innovation

Focus: Turning data into insight and using technology to improve operations

Reading Section Est. Time
Analytics Fundamentals Transformation 20 min
Data Visualization Transformation 15 min
Business Process Management Transformation 15 min

Discussion prompt: What distinguishes an organization that uses data from one that is truly "data-driven"? What organizational capabilities are required beyond the technical tools?

Week 8: Management and Synthesis

Focus: Putting it all together — managing projects, vendors, and technology portfolios

Reading Section Est. Time
Project Management IT Management 20 min
Vendor Management IT Management 15 min
Open Source Software Enterprise Technology 20 min
Innovation Management Transformation 15 min

Discussion prompt: You are advising the CEO on the company's overall technology strategy. Drawing on all eight weeks of reading, what are the three most important questions a business leader should ask about any major technology initiative?

Reference Resources

Throughout the pathway, consult these reference pages as needed: