A. Most decision-makers are aware that information technology can deliver significant benefits for their organizations. They also know: (1) too many projects don’t deliver the promised benefits, (2) frequently the projects significantly exceed their budgets, and (3) a high percentage of projects are canceled. In other words, they know that a lot of IT projects are bad investments.

In addition, no organization has unlimited amounts of money to spend on IT; management must make choices about which projects / activities to fund and which to deny. To help make these choices, many organizations are requiring more and better information about the business needs that projects are to serve, the costs, the risks and the benefits before money is budgeted. These organizations want to make more informed decisions. This, in turn, compels IT organizations to develop justifications supporting project funding requests that explain the benefits in business terms.

Generally, if the funds are available, management will give IT organizations the money they need - as long as they are convinced (by the IT organization and business users) that the investment will pay off.

We suggest that you see our tutorial, IT Project Proposal Primer to learn more about IT budget proposal writing and decision-making.

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