Presents a compelling case for measuring the value-added benefits of information technology; provides methodologies for strategic needs assessment, measurement of value-added benefits, and opportunity planning; 60 case histories of strategic systems show that value-added benefits can be quantified.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From the Author
Time flies. The first edition of this book was written a decade ago. The second edition appeared five years later. It's been published in Spanish and Japanese, and used as the basic text for training countless IS professionals in methods of strategic alignment.
In the last ten years, many of the application described in this book have become commonplace. New technologies have come and gone ast the "hot" issue of the year. But the fundamental business questions about the payoff of IS have not changed.
More than ever, information systems departments are expected to align themselves with corporate strategies and need methods to identify high-payoff, mission-critical opportunities. Methods such as business process reengineering have uncovered significant business opportunities, but are not designed to identify systems opportunities. Without specific methods, business process reengineering teams intuitively define requirements that may or may not be the highest payoff use of information technology. Therefore, the needs assessment and benefits measurement methods in this book are perfect adjuncts to a successful reengineering program.
And in these challenging economic times, executives are demanding high returns on their investment in IS. This forces IS professionals to learn methods for measuring, in meaningful and tangible ways, the payback from computing and telecommunications tools.
Even though this book has a long history, during that decade no other book has even come close to providing such accessible, practical, and effective methods of finding and measuring the "intangible" strategic benefits of computing. It is the "handbook" of IS internal business consultants.
Our consulting clients have demanded that we republish this material. They say that the methods it describes help them with budgeting, convincing, and innovating.
To our clients and readers, we say thank you... for making this book a tremendous success, and for telling us that its tenets are still practical and important. We hope that its republication continues to contribute to the strategic alignment of IS departments worldwide. (1995)
From the Back Cover
"No other book presents so many compelling, practical cases of those who have seized the information initiative. Jargon and obscure theory are delightfully absent. Regardless of the business you are in, you will find practical examples of immediate value." -- Tom Peters, co-author of In Search of Excellence and A Passion for Excellence
"...An important first step in giving managers a framework to evaluate the value of information technologies...This book is especially useful for people who sense the importance of the technology but are unable to articulate those feelings..." -- The Washington Post
"An influential book on how to measure the business benefits of computers." -- Information Week
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Little known gem,
By Mike Tarrani "www.tarrani.com" (Deltona, FL USA) - See all my reviews (COMMUNITY FORUM 04) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Information Edge (Paperback)
I recently finished reading Nicholas Carr's controversial "Does IT Matter?" (ISBN 1591394449). Carr's book make some valid points about the state of IT, but seemed to fall short when it came to describing how to rectify problems. This book, written nearly a decade earlier, does describe how to rectify the problems Carr cited. In fact, it is almost as though the authors wrote this book in anticipation of Carr's book!Meyer and Boone clearly outline how to employ information technology to achieve competitive advantage. Their approach is based on value-added benefits, how to identify them, and how to implement the right systems to attain them. This book comprises fifteen chapters divided into five parts. Part 1 introduces terms and definitions that will be used throughout the book, as well as the concept of value-added benefits. If you assume the information is too fundamental and skip this part you will probably approach the rest of the book with an imprecise understanding of terms and concepts. Part 2 is a collection of cases and ideas that address basic business processes, and how the value-added benefits are derived in each domain, which include: selling, marketing, operations, HR, finance, rolling out products, and negotiations. Each scenario is realistic and well developed. The conclusions, ideas and benefits are both realistic and compelling. There are no gaps in logic or required leaps of faith here. Part 3 covers information tools at the executive/senior management level. Like the preceding chapters, this one provides context, key benefits, and an approach to attaining benefits. Also like the preceding chapters, this part of the book uses cases and examples from real life. Up to this point the authors have proposed a concept and gave examples of how this concept can be applied, making a compelling case. In Part 4 the concept is transformed into an actionable implementation plan. There are four steps, (1) planning for strategic systems, performing a value-added needs assessment, measuring benefits, and adopting the value-added perspective. There is no consultant voodoo here - the steps are clearly articulated, reinforced with examples, and are supported with facts and numbers. Three of the four appendices expand this material by providing needs assessment and measurement interview guides, and expected values. If you've read Carr's book cited above and are at a loss as to where to start resolving IT deficiencies, read this book. Next, visit the author's web site (paste the ASIN number, B0002EUOU0, in the search box on this page and select all products), and also explore the following other books by Mr. Meyer: "RoadMap: How to understand, diagnose, and fix your organization" (ISBN 0964163527), "The Building Blocks Approach to Organization Charts" (ISBN 1892606178), and "The Internal Economy: How to Apply Market Principles within Organizations to Make Sense of Budgeting, Rate-Setting, Project-Approval, and Accounting Processes" (ISBN 1892606186).
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Structuring my knowledge on information,
This review is from: The Information Edge (Paperback)
I have only read the first two chapters, but this book has already structured my own knowledge on information systems and benefits more than I could have asked for. At the moment I am working on an information analysis for a customer and I have been looking for ways to simplify the presentation of potential benefits in cost-displacement and value added to my customer - and Eureka! I have found it!
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