Cost & value management Framework for ICT initiatives

Cost & Value work package – Framework for evaluating IT investment initiatives.  

Objective / Purpose:

An Organization’s ICT investment decisions demands proven economic justification. We expect senior management to question every solution we deliver to the business. This report details a framework for measuring the value realizable out of an ICT investment initiative, enabling a shift in our IT decision making process to be a customer-focused, value driven process. By having a systematic approach to measuring IT’s success in terms of Dollar value contributions, we are trying to shift the perception of IT as cost center to IT as a value center and also to aid in allocation of resources to most essential areas.

Precision, accuracy & continuous measurement must remain a standard process for valuing IT.   Though this scrutiny adds extra work to IT professionals, it also strengthens the benefits our business receives.  Measuring this value has never been an easy task. The document defines what is meant by business value.  ICT provides some products & services which may not need business value metrics assessment (e.g. assessing the value of using a telephone versus mailing a letter etc..)  and this document is not applicable to those initiatives.   

And finally the framework establishes a tool to jumpstart the measurement and valuation process.