Assessing the Value of IT: Understanding and Measuring the Link Between IT and Strategy

An organization is considering spending 18 months and millions of US dollars to implement a new business application. How does one know if this project will deliver any positive, quantifiable results to the organization? Exactly how are the costs of delivering these results and the value produced by the information technology going to be measured? Without a systematic approach toward the valuation of IT projects that includes a process for measuring progress toward specific, quantifiable business goals, most IT managers, cost accountants and auditors will not be able to answer these questions with confidence and justify the value of IT projects to the organization. This article defines a method for assessing the value of IT as it affects the strategic capabilities of the organization, vs. simple cost-efficiencies, by using the value chain to link IT projects to strategies and business processes
Assessing the Value of IT: Understanding and Measuring the Link Between IT and Strategy