Introduction

As the balance in advanced economies shifts from manufacturing towards services, so the benefits from projects become less tangible and hence less amenable to traditional cost-benefit analysis. Information systems (IS) projects, in particular, require innovative methods for their evaluation because their success and hence potential for delivering benefits is closely tied to the participation and involvement of users. For example, there is a growing need to support knowledge workers which requires the provision of comprehensive IS infrastructures.

Despite its importance, investment in IS infrastructure is seldom evaluated, and investments are often undertaken as an act of faith (Silk 1990). The lack of evaluation can be attributed to the difficulty in identifying the intangible benefits associated with infrastructure. For instance, when IS delivers tangible (especially financial) benefits e.g. reduction in staffing levels, assessment is reasonably straightforward. Conversely, where benefits are intangible, such as 'improved access to corporate information', quantification is seldom attempted, and hence monitoring is rarely undertaken.

Few organizations undertake a complete appraisal of investment in IS infrastructure from initial feasibility stage through to tracking of benefits in the post-implementation stage. This results in under-performance of IS, as according to Willcocks (1994, p.5) there is a 'strong correlation between IS control and measurement and IS success'.

This chapter investigates the appraisal of investment in infrastructure projects, as they predominantly deliver intangible benefits, and hence receive little attention. It proposes that infrastructure projects be subject to formal evaluation which...