Article: Obtaining return on investment in information technology projects Journal: International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology (IJCAT) 1995 Vol.8 No.5/6 pp.315 - 324 Abstract: This recent research addressed the question of whether companies were achieving benefits from investment in information technology (IT) and why this situation occurred at the micro, or project, level. The research took the perspective of mainly the business person rather than that of academics, technocrats or consultants. The research was both qualitative and quantitative in nature and employed both descriptive and causal analysis. It was conducted during 1993 and 1994 and focused on forty of Australia|s top performing companies in terms of sales revenue (as cited in Business Review Weekly, 1992). The research covered all main industry sectors. Implications on an international level were then derived. The findings of this research are important for business. They show that companies are not performing well in achieving expected project benefits, and that organisations generally are not innovative in their use of IT. The key factors that influenced this result were related to management emphases on internal project factors and technical issues. Business needs to shift its focus more to managing external environmental influences on IT projects and people issues. It was apparent that IT project investments need to be managed as integrated processes which take into consideration the pervading cultural influences in the organisation as well as the dynamic business environment in which they occur. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Obtaining return on investment in information technology projects

Authors: Frances M. Bruce

Addresses: 21 Kerferd Rd., Glen Iris 3146, Victoria, Australia

Abstract: This recent research addressed the question of whether companies were achieving benefits from investment in information technology (IT) and why this situation occurred at the micro, or project, level. The research took the perspective of mainly the business person rather than that of academics, technocrats or consultants. The research was both qualitative and quantitative in nature and employed both descriptive and causal analysis. It was conducted during 1993 and 1994 and focused on forty of Australia|s top performing companies in terms of sales revenue (as cited in Business Review Weekly, 1992). The research covered all main industry sectors. Implications on an international level were then derived. The findings of this research are important for business. They show that companies are not performing well in achieving expected project benefits, and that organisations generally are not innovative in their use of IT. The key factors that influenced this result were related to management emphases on internal project factors and technical issues. Business needs to shift its focus more to managing external environmental influences on IT projects and people issues. It was apparent that IT project investments need to be managed as integrated processes which take into consideration the pervading cultural influences in the organisation as well as the dynamic business environment in which they occur.

Keywords: benefit achievement; benefit measurement; environmental influences; expected benefits; information technology; investment effectiveness; IT projects; project problems; unexpected outcomes; return on investment; ROI.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCAT.1995.062422

International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology, 1995 Vol.8 No.5/6, pp.315 - 324

Published online: 05 Jun 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article

Title: Obtaining return on investment in information technology projects

Keep up-to-date