3.8 Benefits management: feasibility stage

Benefit management should be pursued across the life of any IT/e-business project. It is in the feasibility stage, however, that benefits are initially identified, making feasibility crucial to the success of the entire project and application portfolio. Benefit identification and quantification are, based on the findings of our research, two very difficult tasks at the heart of the evaluation dilemma. More specifically, it is probably the range of intangible benefits that complicate all discussions of benefits. Intangibles include improved customer service, development of systems architecture, high job satisfaction, higher product quality, improved external/internal communications and management information, gaining competitive advantage, cost avoidance, avoiding competitive disadvantage and improved supplier relationships. Although the literature is rich with benefit measurement/identification concepts, we will focus here on two benefit management approaches that have proved particularly useful and that translate easily into the e-enabled world.

The benefits management process: Ward and Griffiths (1996)

Earlier in this chapter, Ward and Griffiths application portfolio classification was identified: support systems, key operational systems, strategic systems and high potential systems. This classification system can be used not only to examine the application portfolio, but also to identify the classes of benefits that might be available. Figure 3.5 provides a summary.

Figure 3.5: Generic sources of benefit for different IT applications

Ward and Griffiths reiterate what we have confirmed so far, namely that there is no point in any sophisticated system of investment evaluation and priority setting unless the "system" is examined in terms of...