IT Must Jump Higher For Project Funding

There never seems to be enough money to fund all of management's desired initiatives. Different departments jockey for funds within the corporate budget, and individual projects vie for pieces of the resulting departmental allocation. Regardless of the amount of investment funds available, organizations have either an implicit or explicit target ROI that projects must exceed prior to funds being allocated. IT investments designed to improve business outcomes — what we call "BT" (business technology) — are often much larger than those of other departments. As BT projects are considered inherently risky, higher ROI expectations are expected to compensate. However, these expectations in turn lead to further risky projects, creating a vicious cycle of riskier projects chasing higher returns and a portfolio out of balance with the best interests of the organization.