Solution to - Is IS evaluation different to evaluation of other investment - According to Dressel (1976), "an evaluation is both the worth or impact of a program, procedure, or individual, and the process whereby judgment is made."There seems be an acceptance both in practice and in literature that evaluation of information systems investments is inherently different to evaluation of other investments within organisations. (Powell)The evaluation of information systems is extremely difficult and is different to the evaluation of other investments simply because the usual cost/ benefit evaluations used in evaluating other investments (for example marketing and branding), will not work in the area of information systems.
This is because cost/benefit analysis fails to capture the intangible benefits of information systems as a whole.An investment of a new computer information system within a company may for example produce an intangible benefit of better employee morale, thus contributing to retention of talent, more innovative ideas and overall improved customer satisfaction. However if evaluating solely on the cost benefits of an information system, there is no way to directly translate improved employee morale into revenue outcomes, even though overall employee morale will have an impact on a company's revenue (The Houston Chronicle). Today, more than 25% of the value of many companies is based on intangible assets (including information systems investments) and the need to evaluate the intangible benefits of information systems is crucial (CIO).According to Curley [2005] "Even when there is no reduction in cost, significant benefits can be realized in projects that enhance customer loyalty, open up new business opportunities, or increased productivity." When evaluating IT projects, by including the intangible benefits of the project in the evaluation, a better understanding of the true value of the project will emerge (Oliver, 2007).The intangible benefit of information systems is what makes them stand out, and makes the need for their evaluation to be different from the evaluation of more tangible investments.Do others think that the evaluation of information systems is different to other large investments?