Benefits Management: Delivering Value from IS & IT Investments

Chapter 5. Building the Business Case

Traditionally, the main purpose in developing a business case for an IS/IT project has been to obtain funding for a significant financial investment. However, in the context of this book and the realization of business benefits from the implementation of new systems and technology, the term 'business case' has a wider meaning. One aspect of the business case is to provide information to decide whether or not to make the financial investment, but it should also enable the organization to plan and manage the project to a successful conclusion, such that the benefits which underpin the rationale for both the IS/IT investment and the business changes are achieved.

The term 'business case' also implies that it is more than a financial justification for investment. The latter relies on identifying explicit, relatively short-term, performance improvements that will be achieved and excludes consideration of benefits that cannot be interpreted financially. While this may have been appropriate when the vast majority of benefits were accrued from efficiencies resulting from automation of clerical tasks, the integral and often critical role IS/IT plays in organizations today means that such a limited view will preclude the realization of many available benefits. These additional benefits are often associated with the term 'capability'. That is, the technology enables the organization to be able to change and evolve over the longer term to achieve its strategic ...