A. Decisions to spend on IT projects are rarely based purely on their technical merits. Technical review and evaluation of projects is a key aspect of the decision-making process; it is also necessary to assess how well the projects will meets business needs (i.e., exactly what the business benefit is). There are factors that require the knowledge and judgment of others in your organization:

• how much more revenue will be made because of the technology, or lost without it (sometimes, technical people work with business users to develop this information)?
   
• how much money is available to pay for technology vs. all other operations?
   
• if there isn’t enough money for all projects, which ones are most important?

Technical people can significantly improve the odds of a favorable decision, when they show that projects have a direct, positive and tangible effect (e.g., make money) on the business. You may not be in a position to make the final decision, but you can certainly strongly influence it by providing compelling budget justifications.

See our Tutorial, IT Proposal Preparation Primer, to learn more about how you can improve the odds.

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