Realising benefits from IS/IT : exploring the practices and competences required to succeed

The primary driver for this research was the continuing high failure rate of investments in IS/IT which has stayed at around 70-80% for over 30 years. The aim of this research was to 'explore the extent to which organisations have adopted benefits driven practices when undertaking investments in IS/IT. An initial phase of the research was primarily based on detailed documentation on 25 projects taken from the knowledge management database of an IS/IT consultancy. A second phase comprised in-depth case studies at three organisations. This phase explored the practices adopted on three or four projects at each organisation and importantly the wider organisational context in which the projects took place. An important contribution from this research has been the development of a framework of competences and practices for the realisation of benefits from investments in IS/IT. The empirical elements of the study then go well beyond recent survey-based research, by providing in-depth insights into the practice of benefits realisation, across a variety of organisations. The empirical study showed that benefits-related practices are very rarely adopted. The research has also provided evidence of the value of the practices 'lens', which is shown to provide a valuable way to operationalise competences, as it fits very well with how people think and work. The thesis provides some concrete suggestions as to how the practice of benefits realisation might best be improved.