Making the software business case

The book provides examples of successful business cases; along the way, tables, tools, facts, figures, and metrics guide you through the entire analytic process. Writing in a concise and witty style, the author makes this valuable guidance accessible to every software engineer, manager, and IT professional.

• How and where business case analyses fit into the software and IT life cycle process
• Explanations of the most common tools for business case analysis, such as present-value, return-on-investment, break-even, and cost/benefit calculation
• Tying the business process to the software development life cycle
• Packaging the business case for management consumption
• Frameworks and guidelines for justifying IT productivity, quality, and delivery cycle improvement strategies
• Casestudies for applying appropriate decision situations to software process improvement
• Strategic guidelines for various business case analyses

With this book in hand, you will find the facts, examples, hard data, and case studies needed for preparing your own winning business cases in today's complex software environment.

Table of Contents

Foreword Preface

Acknowledgments

I: Fundamental Concepts

1: Improvement Is Everybody's Business

Viewing Software as a Business

Change Is the Nature of Software

Making the Giant Leap Forward

Success Is a Numbers Game

Business Versus Technical Cases

Why Change?

How This Book Can Help You

Summary

2: Making a Business Case

The Whats, Whys, and Whens of Business Cases

Business Cases: Stepping Through the Life Cycle

Summary

3: Making the Business Case: Principles, Rules, and Analysis Tools

Tooling the Process

Tools of the Trade

Packaging the Business Case for Management Consumption

Avoiding Taxes and Tax Revolts

Summary

4: Business Cases That Make Sense

The Parable of the Chinese Emperor

Improving the Process

Architecting Products

Make Versus Buy Analysis

Moving to a Web-Based Economy

Summary

II: The Case Studies

5: Playing the Game of Dungeons and Dragons: Process Improvement Case Study

Setting the Stage

Process Maturity: Are the Investments Justified?

Quantifying the Return-on-Investment

Getting Everyone Involved in Playing the Game

Reinventing and Refreshing the Organization

Summary

6: Quantifying the Cost/Benefits: Capitalizing Software Case Study

You've Got a Problem

Capital Decision-Making Process

Making Your Numbers Believable

Summary

7: Making Your Numbers Sing: Architecting Case Study

The Grand Proposal

Developing a Strategy

Readying the Financials

Determining the Numbers

Why Pursue Architecture in the First Place?

Summary

8: Maneuvering the Maze: Web-Based Economy Case Study

For Openers

Computing How Much to Pay

Going Global

Timing Is Strategy

Summary

III: Finale

9: Overcoming Adversity: More Than a Pep Talk

The Wary Traveler

You Can Be Successful

Other Interesting Uses of Numbers

Where's the Technology Heading?

Summary

Appendix A: Recommended Reading List

Appendix B: Compound Interest Tables

Acronyms

Glossary

Index