A Public Sector Case Study on Evaluating and Managing the Benefits of IS/IT

Abstract

The issue of expected and actual benefits realized from IS/IT investments has generated a significant amount of debate in the IS/IT literature among researchers, academics, and practitioners. This is as true in Australia as it is in the rest of the developed world. Thus, a detailed program of research into the current Australian practice and processes of IS/IT investment evaluation and benefits realization was initiated. As part of this research program, an in-depth case study of these practices and processes in a large government agency, with a mix of insourced and outsourced IS/IT activities, was conducted. A number of issues emerged from the analysis of the text data. Key issues are presented below in some detail.