February 6, 2011 from The Enterprise System Spectator – “…My hypothesis is that, due to a reluctance to say “no” directly, ROI calculations are often a convenient way to refuse projects that management simply doesn’t want to do. This “ROI trap” can take several forms:
- Management argues the project budget is underestimated
- Management argues the benefits are overly optimistic
- Management argues the benefits cannot be connected to the proposed initiative…”
180 View – We disagree. The so-called traps are in fact exactly the questions management should be asking. Often the people who are driving the project want it to proceed for personal reasons. I say bravo to the hard-ass decision makers who ask the tough questions.