4.3. Return on investment

As early as possible, preferably before purchase is completed, the Enterprise Business Sponsor should determine how to realize return on investment (ROI). The work done up front to define ROI criteria will pay dividends throughout the entire life cycle of software deployment. ROI discussions typically lead to two types of measurements:

  • Hard (tangible) ROI

  • Soft (intangible) ROI

According to most experts in this area, it is important to have both tangible and intangible ways to measure success. In many cases, the value may not be clearly defined in financial terms. Therefore, the only alternative is to look for non-financial benefits. A common misconception is that hard measures are good and soft measures are bad. It makes ...

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