Cost links

Investing In Technology: Funding Options and Choices for the IT Champion in State and Local Government
This white paper provides hands-on advice on how to get IT projects over the hurdles of the budgetary process. The paper details how IT projects run a high risk of falling through the grid due to their relatively high up-front costs as well as their distant-in-time returns or savings. A variety of methods for circumventing these classical pitfalls are discussed. The importance of stringent and convincing business cases, which thoroughly compare the costs with the financial benefits of any proposed IT investment are emphasized.

Getting IT spending right this time
The authors contend that cost pressures often lead companies to cut spending on IT initiatives aimed at improving performance. Though being the first to adopt new systems carries potential risks of dealing with immature system designs, well-targeted IT spending can make companies more productive when it helps them to innovate. Companies should identify and invest in the right productivity levers as well as time IT investments carefully, so that basic corporate systems are ready to benefit from them.

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Arizona: Project Investment Justification Process
Arizona has a formally stated Information Technology Project and Investment Justification, and Monitoring policy and procedure administered through the Government Information Technology Agency (GITA). Agencies proposing IT projects with development costs of $25,000 or greater, are required to submit a "Project Investment Justification" (PIJ) document to GITA for review and approval.

California: Statewide Information Management Manual
IT investments in California are reviewed by two agencies, The Department of Information Technology (DOIT), and the Department of Finance (DOF). California is currently revamping its processes. See Project initiation, approval, and change process to see how methods are being changed to make them less bureaucratic, and to facilitate speedier exchange of information within the system.

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Pennsylvania: The Office for Information Technology
Under the Investment Review Program, projects that cost $500,000 or greater, or those that are under $500,000 and in certain specified areas (i.e. electronic commerce, GIS, etc.) are required to submit information such as a project description and financials (including a cost benefit analysis) for review. Project managers are required to update the project monitoring section as the project progresses. This helps the Office of Information Technology staff to keep track of project progress and raise flags of potential problems.

Tennessee: Information Systems Planning Review
Tennessee has evolved a comprehensive process to deal with information systems planning. For projects with costs greater than $100,000, a project proposal is submitted, along with a detailed cost benefit analysis as part of the Information Systems Plan to the agency's Management Advisory Committee. The information in the proposal is used to prioritize projects and recommend funding as well as monitor costs and benefits during project implementation. The Information System Plans are then reviewed, evaluated by a committee (OIR/Budget Review Committee) consisting of budget and technology specialists within the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration.

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Information Technology Investment Management: A Framework for Assessing and Improving Process Maturity
In 2000, the United States General Accounting Office published an exposure draft of Information Technology Investment Management: A Framework for Assessing and Improving Process Maturity (ITIM). The framework provided a method for evaluating and assessing how well an agency is selecting and managing its IT resources. This new version updates the exposure draft to take into account comments that GAO has received; GAO’s experiences in evaluating several agencies’ implementations of investment management processes and the lessons learned by these agencies; and the importance of enterprise architecture (EA) as a critical frame of reference in making IT investment decisions.

City of Los Angeles: Project Management Methodology
The City of Los Angeles has developed a Project Management Methodology that provides guidelines for project management activities, responsibilities, and deliverables for IT projects. The methodology, based on many sources including best practices of government agencies and industry, provides guidelines to the City's information technology development projects. It looks at projects from three dimensions: the project life cycle, project management processes, and project management responsibilities.

The Hidden Costs of Data Integration
Data integration is about new operating efficiencies and improved business processes—neither of which are inexpensive to accomplish. This article from the May 1999 issue of CIO Magazine discusses seven tips for protecting your investment.

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