APM Best Practices: Realizing Application Performance Management

Chapter 2. Business Justification

Always do right; this will gratify some people and astonish the rest.

—Mark Twain (1835-1910)

To justify an APM initiative is to establish the motivations and benefits that the initiative will address from the perspective of the business or sponsor. The justification is usually a written document and often focuses on the financial aspects of the proposal: the initial investment and ongoing maintenance. The emphasis on finances is not only historical but also reflects the lack of any prior experience on which to refer to for the "real" costs and impacts of the initiative—the unique circumstances of a new APM initiative. This is the first clue for the client that they are moving into unfamiliar territory. At this ...