Dan Remenyi

Frequently not enough attention is given to producing a comprehensive business case or to producing an economic justification for an information systems investment. In fact many organizations are not clear as to what constitutes a sound business case and how to go about producing one. This Professional level book for the Computer Weekly Professional Series will show how to go about justification for I. T. spend. This book is designed for all those who are involved in the decision to invest in information systems. This book is especially relevant to senior business executives, senior financial managers and IT executives. Business consultants, computer and corporate advisors will also find the ideas and material addressed in this text of particular benefit as will anyone involved in corporate and strategic planning. In addition, senior students such as those working towards their MBAs will find this book of use. A business case is a statement or a series of statements that demonstrate the economic value of a particular intervention, a course of action or a specific investment. A business case is not simply a financial forecast of the hardware and software costs and the expected benefits. A business case for an information systems investment involves a comprehensive understanding of both the likely resources as well as the business drivers which will assist business managers improve their performance and thereby obtain a stream of benefits from the investment. In general there are approximately six steps in producing a business case for an information systems investment. 1. Determine the high-level business outcomes that will be clearly and comprehensively expressed as a set of opportunities the organization can take advantage of, or problems that need to be rectified. 2. Identify the corporate critical success factors that will be supported or enhanced by the operation of the completed information systems project or investment. 3. Create a list of specific and detailed outcomes or benefits, their appropriate metrics, measuring methods and responsibility points that are represented by the stakeholders. 4. Quantify the contribution made by the outcomes, which requires associating numbers or benefit values with outcomes where this is possible. 5. Highlight the risks associated with the project. Fundamental to this new approach to developing a business case for information systems investment is the fact that it incorporates much more than the financial numbers which are typically found in the standard approach to a feasibility study. This approach looks behind the financial numbers to the improvements in business performance which are facilitated by information systems and which are the real drivers of the benefits. Furthermore, this approach to developing a business case allows the organization to manage the process so that the required results are achieved.

This book is about information systems development failures and how to avoid them. It considers what goes wrong with information systems development projects and what actions may be taken to avoid potential difficulties. The reduction of the impact,or even the elimination of the problems,is discussed in terms of an information systems risk management programme. Stop I. T. Project failure helps to ensure that IS project managers are successful in helping to deliver application systems. However, IS development risk can never be entirely eliminated and consequently the practitioner needs to bear in mind that an IS development project is never without risk, and hence there is a continuing potential for something to go wrong. The book covers the key issues and variables and makes specific practical suggestions about the good management practice that is required to implement IS project risk processes. Dr. Dan Remenyi has spent more than 25 years working in the field of corporate computers and information systems. He has worked with computers as an IS professional, business consultant and user. In all these capacities he has been primarily concerned with benefit realisation and obtaining the maximum value for money from the organisations' information systems investment and effort. He has worked extensively in the field of information systems project management, specialising in the area of project risk identification and management. He has written a number of books and papers in the field of IT management and regularly conducts courses and seminars as well as working as a consultant in this area. Dr. Dan Remenyi holds a B. Soc. Sc., an MBA and a PhD. He is a Visiting Professor at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenberg, Sweden and an associate member of faculty at Henley Management College in the United Kingdom.

'[T]here is, as with all the chapters, an excellent set of suggested further reading...' - Management Learning `Postgraduate students should find this a useful book, since it focuses on issues specific to their requirements. The philosophical underpinnings, methodology and practicalities of research are all discussed within the context of postgraduate research' - International Small Business Journal This wide-ranging text comprehensively overviews management research and research methodology. The authors take the reader through all the major stages of the research process and introduce the key methods. After highlighting the different contexts and purposes, strategies and tactics, programmes and processes of management research, the authors provide detailed coverage of the relevant research approaches and methods. They discuss the interrelationship of theoretical and empirical research, and how these apply to practice. The implications of using quantitative and qualitative methods are examined, and practical advice is given on the available analysis techniques and software packages.

'[T]here is, as with all the chapters, an excellent set of suggested further reading...' - Management Learning `Postgraduate students should find this a useful book, since it focuses on issues specific to their requirements. The philosophical underpinnings, methodology and practicalities of research are all discussed within the context of postgraduate research' - International Small Business Journal This wide-ranging text comprehensively overviews management research and research methodology. The authors take the reader through all the major stages of the research process and introduce the key methods. After highlighting the different contexts and purposes, strategies and tactics, programmes and processes of management research, the authors provide detailed coverage of the relevant research approaches and methods. They discuss the interrelationship of theoretical and empirical research, and how these apply to practice. The implications of using quantitative and qualitative methods are examined, and practical advice is given on the available analysis techniques and software packages.