You’ve heard it before. The CFO asks "how do we know what value we’re getting from IT?" The business line leader asks "How do I measure the value of IT to my P&L, not just help desk tickets closed?" The CEO asks "How do I know our IT spend is allocated to best support our objectives?"
Economic pressures are putting more emphasis than ever on the CIO’s use of best practice in value measurement — the right measures applied in the right way to get the right insights to improve value. Painfully, this came at the same time that a Center for CIO Leadership study entitled "Communicating Business Value" reported that only 51% of respondents agreed with the statement "I have developed business value indicators that link IT performance metrics and business goals."
A review of questions asked during training sessions I’ve conducted in the past 12 months reveals four key insights to improving value measures.