In my experience, a product-centric operating model along with a strategic Enterprise Architecture (EA) function is critical to align technology initiatives with strategic business goals while continually measuring impact of IT investments on business capabilities and outcomes. Successful practices include: (1) Organizing around product-oriented cross-functional teams with joint product lifecycle ownership by persistent technology and business teams (2) Mapping business capabilities to IT solutions to make visible IT assets contributions (and limitations) to business outcomes (3) Tying and measuring IT architectural investments to business metrics like revenue expansion, cost savings and NPS improvements

Additionally to what others said, regular business & IT touchpoints, I found it useful to apply Value Mapping. Identify the goals and underlying products/processes that need to change or be replaced and the future state. IT projects should come out of the mapping exercise. And having a visual helps understand where the project came from and what problem it addresses. And that is clear, there is no misalignment.

To align out of sync IT projects from business goals, follow these steps: 1. Re-Calibration: Check whether the IT goals and strategies are not aligned to or not cater to business goals. For this re- calibration exercise may be a good starting point where IT Leadership along with Business leadership meet & collaborate to find the IT project gaps. This will throw out unique opportunities where Business Pain Points can be understood for further course correction. 2. IT Strategy, Ownership & Delivery : Once business and IT project gaps are identified, formulate and re-innovate IT Goals which must now be aligned to Business Goals. This may involve changing IT leadership goals which will be cascaded to the IT project teams.

Regular interaction with business leaders clears the air on priorities and makes the IT initiatives meet real business needs. This approach ensures teamwork and that projects remain aligned with strategic objectives. With the use of Agile or similar methodologies, be flexible to accommodate the ever-changing business needs. It will keep the projects relevant and meaningful. Established IT metrics reflecting business goals shall permit tracking of progress towards goals. These KPIs should be subject to regular reviews, and strategies should be changed with an alignment view.

Emphasising that technology drives business goals is vital throughout IT projects, from concept to realisation. Aligning IT projects with business objectives is essential to achieve strategic success. Follow these steps to prevent misalignment: 1. Identify stakeholders, understand their goals and challenges. 2. Engage with stakeholders to clarify how IT supports business goals. 3. Tailor communication to stakeholders, using business-focused language. 4. Define plans and milestones, incorporating business input. 5. Hold regular checkpoints to ensure IT progress aligns with business KPIs. This approach builds trust, strengthens alignment, and minimises gaps between IT and business goals.