The primary objective of establishing outcome measures, often referred to as lagging indicators, is to quantify the results of strategic initiatives after they have been implemented. These measures directly assess whether the intended business value and strategic goals have been achieved. By tracking these outcomes, the board and executive management can effectively monitor the success of the chosen strategy and make informed decisions about its continuation, modification, or termination. This monitoring function is the core purpose of an outcome measure.

A. Clarify the cause-and-effect relationship of the strategy: This is a broader objective of a complete performance measurement system (like a balanced scorecard) which links outcome measures with performance drivers (lead indicators), not the primary goal of outcome measures alone.
C. Understand how the strategy will be achieved: This is addressed by performance drivers or lead indicators, which measure the processes and activities that are expected to lead to the desired outcomes.
D. Demonstrate commitment to IT governance: While implementing performance measurement is a key practice of good governance, the functional purpose of the measures themselves is to monitor success, not simply to act as a symbol of commitment.

1. ISACA, CGEIT Review Manual, 8th Edition (2020): Domain 3: Benefits Realization, Section 3.3, "Monitoring and Reporting on IT Performance," explains that outcome measures (lagging indicators) are used to measure the success of a process or strategy after the fact, confirming whether desired results were achieved.

2. ISACA, COBIT 2019 Framework: Introduction and Methodology (2018): Section 4.2, "The COBIT Goals Cascade," describes how enterprise goals are measured by outcome-based metrics. The text states, "The achievement of enterprise goals needs to be measured to determine the extent to which they are being supported... Each enterprise goal has a set of example metrics defined for it." This directly links metrics (outcome measures) to monitoring the achievement (success) of goals.

3. ISACA, COBIT 2019 Framework: Governance and Management Objectives (2018): In the detailed descriptions of each management objective (e.g., APO02 Managed Strategy), tables of metrics are provided that distinguish between outcome metrics and other types. The purpose of these outcome metrics is consistently to measure the achievement of the objective's purpose, which is a direct reflection of strategic success.