The Investment Logic Map (ILM)
by jed simms on June 9, 2009
The ILM was launched in a book called “Benefits Management” which is unfortunate because people therefore think if is a benefits management tool. It is and it isn’t.
The ILM was designed by Cranfield University to enable IT departments to link IT investments to business benefits so as to overcome the often large conceptual gap between all of the investment in IT and the business results desired.
The ILM has five key sections
The idea is that you can read right to centre and left to centre to see the benefits that arise from your actions and technology investments. All of this is done in ‘loosey-goosy’ language that requires separate KPIs to be defined by which the benefits can be measured. All a bit vague and unmeasurable (the exact opposite to the Value Equation).
The ILM is restricted to one page and therefore deliberately restricts the number of benefits to, often three or four. Hardly a vehicle for value maximization!
Where the ILM is good is as a simple thinking tool early on in a project. What are we trying to achieve? What is the problem we’re solving? What types of benefits are we aiming for? All good questions and many organizations have found the ILM useful in clarifying the answers to these types of questions in the conceptual phase.
But a benefits management tool it is not. It fails on almost every count. The actions are unmeasurable; the benefits are unmeasurable, the KPIs are often not closely related to the benefits and how they’ll be delivered is not defined, it doesn’t align costs to anything in particular and so on. Indeed, if you actually read the book you’ll see that it ends with the generation of the ILM and does not cover benefits realization. Whoops, what an omission.
So, while the ILM helps organizations think through their initial ideas it is not a real benefits management tool; and if you rely on it for end-to-end benefits management you’ll fail.
Any thoughts? Please post your comments below.
© Jed Simms, Australia, 2009
3 comments
Jed,
Currently there are few frameworks that are trying to come up with methods, processes and tools for realization IT investments benefits. Besides the ILM, I have heard (don’t claim to be an expert) about the “ValIT” of ISACA and Business Value from Information Technology (BVIT) of Gartner. I wonder if you can explore the difference and any pros of cons of VDM over other players.
Thanks
by Otba Alsboul on June 9, 2009 at 5:57 pm. #
I will be exploring at least some of these in the next few weeks
JED
by Jed Simms on June 10, 2009 at 9:01 pm. #
CFO Guide to Doing Business in China has gathered all the important aspects based on the author′s personal experiences as a CFO, a financial consultant, an entrepreneur and also a successful businessman in China for over a decade. It is not only a Guide for CFOs of foreign companies in China, but also a practical book for investors who want to do or are already doing business in China. Although the book focuses on financial, accounting, taxation, and auditing aspects, it also gives tips to newcomers on how to be more effective when doing business in China. The coverage includes the understanding of Chinese culture, managing and dealing with the Chinese people, strategies to expand your business in China. Practical contents based on real cases to help businesses get started and navigate the intricacies of China′s accounting system, taxation issues, currency controls, risk management, outsourcing, people management, employment issues, mergers and acquisitions.
China has changed enormously over the last 20 years. Its economy has been growing at 10% a year, and it’s on track to be the world’s largest economy soon. Today, 80% of the world’s electronic goods are made in China. As a result, more and more western companies want to do business in China. But how easy is it for a westerner to do business there? Here are some tips from the British Embassy in Beijing.
How to do business in china
Take your time. In the west, business is ruled by deadlines. Chinese business people seem to act slowly by western standards, so be prepared to wait for decisions.
The applicant picks up the application for company name preapproval from the local Administration of Industry and Commerce (AIC), or otherwise, downloads the form from AIC’s Web site. The applicant completes and signs the application form and files it along with his or her identity card. The applicant must be one of the company shareholders. Effective July 1, 2004, enterprise name registration must follow the amended State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC) rules (that is, the new Enterprise Name Registration Administration Implementing Measures, or Qi ye ming cheng deng ji guan li shi shi ban fa). According to the new registration rules, if the applicant goes directly to the AIC, a proposed company name is approved or rejected on the spot. This is newly regulated by Article 24 of the aforementioned measures and is implemented in practice. However if the application is made through mail, fax, email, etc, the proposed company name will be approved or rejected within 15 days.
Build relationships. In the west, it’s usual to do business first, and then see if a relationship is possible. In China, it’s the opposite. You need to build a relationship before you can do business. This leads to the idea of ‘guanxi’. Guanxi means using personal contacts and relationships to do business, and westerners need to understand how real and strong this is in China.
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It can also be useful to find a reliable Chinese ally to work with you. He or she will be able to help with language or cultural problems and will also be able to understand Chinese body language. Remember too that a visit by a westerner is often seen as a great honour by Chinese companies.
You must remember to respect ‘face’. Face means having high status with your peers. Face can be lost, given or earned. Never criticize or insult someone in front of others, as losing face will make it impossible to make a deal. On the other hand, if you praise someone by saying good things about him or her, then he or she will gain face, but be careful not to do it too much.
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Accept the pecking order. Hierarchy is very important in China, and the group is more important than the individual. In business, Chinese people often don’t like taking responsibility individually and may also not like giving opinions in front of peers, in case they lose face.
All these tricks of the trade can help you to play the game and do business successfully in China. Be prepared, and be patient if you want to be a winner in China.
by mixaxiotHok on July 9, 2009 at 5:04 am. #