Justifying IT projects

In many cases, IT projects get initiated with a wish list. There is a legitimate business need behind the project. The business defines that business need, but can't necessarily articulate it to the technical staff and/or suppliers. The business generally know what they are trying to achieve, but because there is no detailed definition, it is simply a wish.

These wishes need to be turned into plans. If you want to get more sales, many software suppliers will tell you to install Customer Relationship Management software (CRM). While CRM can help to improve sales, it is not a magic bullet. Just because you want it, doesn't make it happen. So far it's just a wish.

How do you change that wish into a reality? Sticking with CRM, the way it helps to increase sales, is that it helps you to improve your relationship with your customers. It provides the capability to track every interaction with your customer, no matter who talks to them, using whatever vehicle: phone, email, letter, even web. The software doesn't do it by itself, it provides the tools to do it.

Implementing CRM may totally change the roles and responsibility of your sales and support staff, as well as change the way your software works. If you justify the project based on the software aspects, you will get many of the costs, but few of the benefits.

In order to create a plan, you have to start with understanding how you will increase sales. If your intent is not to increase sales with existing customers, then CRM will be of no value.

If you do intend to increase sales to existing customers, then CRM software may be a solution. What benefits can be gained? Do you see a 10%, 20% gain? What else will have to change in terms of roles and responsibilities, other software, etc., for you to make that gain.

Most technology staff and suppliers will help you to install the software, but few will address the issues of how the business will have to change and what you will have to do to measure whether it is working. You may also end up implementing a lot more than you have to, to achieve your goals. Most software products have far more features than most companies need.

Even if you successfully implement the software and successfully gain the benefits that you expect, you may end up installing far more than you need and paying a much higher cost.

The biggest issue is justification of the expenditure. Start with the business goal. Then lay out a plan that shows how you will achieve it. This will define the benefit you will receive AND what components or activities are necessary to achieve it and what will provide the biggest benefit Then figure out the cost, and see how the costs map to the benefits. Drop anything that doesn't have a high benefit to cost.

This will get you out of the issue of dealing with all of the extraneous technical issues, the options that provide no value.