Interpreting the evaluation of information systems investments Conceptual and operational explorations

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Rethinking the approaches to information systems investment evaluation

Numerous information system evaluation methodologies have been proposed in the literature. However, most of them suffer from a number of inherited disabilities originating in the nature of their fundamental principles as well as the nature of information systems evaluation. Uses evidence from the evaluation literature and two case studies to address the multiple dimensions for evaluation practices. We focus on the context, content and process of information systems evaluation as a source of organisational change. We found a noticeable gap between the recent theoretical work on IS evaluation and the practices within the case study organisations. This was not due to any lack of knowledge but was attributed to contextual variables such as the organisational culture and the power of important stakeholder groups

Understanding and supporting information systems evaluation

The evaluation of information systems is an area of increasing concern to organizations as these systems become more central to the organization and high levels of investment in IT show no signs of falling. However, evaluation is a complex tangle of financial, organizational and tchnical threads, many of which are currently either avoided or dealt with ineffectively by organizations. The paper argues that considerable benefit could be gained by the provision of computer-based support, in the form of an evaluation workbench. In order to provide a conceptual basis to approach the complexities of evaluation, the paper discusses a conceptual framework, based on the content, process and context of evaluation. This framework is used to classify the evaluation activities and to discuss the benefits of the proposed workbench

The management of change for information systems evaluation practice: experience from a case study

Most of today's cost-driven, project evaluation methodologies and accountancy frameworks fail to take into account the intangible benefits and associated risks, and cannot reflect the infrastructural nature of modern information system (IS) This paper argues that an interpretivist framework is initially needed to understand and study the IS evaluation process. The emphasis here is on describing and analysing processes of change regarding information technology (IT) appraisal practices in context, illustrating why and how their content and the strategies for introducing them can be constrained and/or enabled by features of the organizational context. In these terms, this paper analyses the case of a UK insurance organization where the need for a rigourous IT appraisal methodology initiated a 12-month project to design and develop such a method and a series of supporting tools. The paper examines the use the evolution of the methodology over the past two years

Assessing effects of eGovernment initiatives based on a public value framework

Assessing effects of eGovernment initiatives is considered an important but challenging endeavor. Assessments are, among other things, important to justify e-government investments. They are challenging because they are complex, often based on locally defined indicators, many times over-emphasizing financial effects, imprecise, faced with a number of contingencies and very seldom validated. Consequently, effect assessments can be seen as imprecise and difficult to compare across different initiatives. This paper addresses some of the challenges by attempting to assess effects based on a public value framework through an action design study with a Norwegian government agency. Based on our findings, we suggest 5 design principles for adapting and using performance indicators for assessing effects from eGovernment initiatives

A Comprehensive Framework Approach using Content, Context, Process Views to Combine Methods from Operations Research for IT Assessments

Motivated by IT evaluation problems identified in a large public sector organization, we propose how evaluation requirements can be supported by a framework combining different models and methods from IS evaluation theory. The article extends the content, context, process (CCP) perspectives of organizational change with operations research techniques and demonstrates the approach in practice for an Enterprise Resource Planning evaluation