Six ways to save your IT project from the scrap heap

Tight times require new strategies for keeping your IT projects on line and your career moving forward

If the project aims at reducing head count, inventory, or transaction costs, so-called hard ROI numbers may be sufficient, notes Roy. But for projects with less measurable aims -- such as improving the business environment or coping with changes in the competitive landscape -- soft ROI, such as the increase in growth potential or business value as a result of improved relationships, comes into play. Here, demonstrating the value of your project can prove tricky, but if you focus on value hidden in these areas and make a strong case, you will significantly improve the likelihood that your IT project doesn't get scuttled.

But don't focus too narrowly on your project's niche lest you lose sight of the big picture.

IT managers also need to step back and look at the impact the project could have on the entire organization, notes Lou Trebino, CIO of Harry Fox Agency, an online licensing business for music publishers.

"You need to look at the opportunity costs," Trebino says. "What are we not going to be able to do, in terms of people and dollars, because we took on this project? Will we be able to do more or do what we do more effectively? Is this what we need to have a competitive edge in the marketplace? It can't just be cool -- there needs to be real competitive advantage."

Jon Rider, CIO for Gilbane, a $3.5 billion construction and real estate firm, says business need is the true ROI. If the business has asked for IT's hand in a project, that should be enough.

"If you're doing an IT project that is either not driven by the business or does not have direct bottom-line financial impact to the company, you probably should not be doing the project in the first place," he says. "Would you have the business or IT shop do an ROI on something as basic as an e-mail server? No one would tell you, 'There is no ROI, so we don't need it.' The business need bypasses the requirement for IT to sell an ROI back to those who requested it in the first place."

IT project survival tip No. 2: Talk like a CFO

Bruce Culbert, CEO of IT recruiting firm iSymmetry, says he recently helped convince a national retailer to build its own social networking platform to cull feedback and ideas from its customers.

Despite the cost -- a seven-figure budget over the next two to three years -- the retailer approved the investment "because the cost of not doing the project in terms of dissatisfied and lost customers was far greater than the addition of new IT capabilities," says Culbert.

In tough economic times, companies look to hold on to the customers they already have, he adds. Projects that reduce customer retention costs or increase the efficiency of marketing campaigns are more likely to get a green light.

But even the most ruthless, cost-slashing IT project can die a swift death if it's pitched in language your CFO can't understand -- and everybody talks about ROI just a little differently, says Culbert.

"You need to have a sound understanding of whatever language your company works in," he explains. "Do they use internal rate of return, payback period, time to value? Sometimes business leaders don't always sync up to the value language of the company. If capital is involved, you need to understand the process your finance department uses to approve the budget and get it into the language they speak."

Greg Baker, CFO of managed services provider Logicalis, agrees.