The evaluation of IS investment returns: The RFI case

Abstract

Today CIOs and IS departments in general are struggling to find a framework to evaluate the performance and the return of their IS investments. Notwithstanding a long-term research tradition on the topic of the business value impact of IS, so far the identification of the returns of the investments of IS is still an open issue. Even though a consistent body of literature has examined the problem over a time frame of more than 20 years, the IS business value research has produced so far a plethora of theoretical contributions with few practical applications. Starting from the assumption that real-world experiences differ from theoretical explications, and with the intent to contribute in the IS business value research field bringing evidences and witnesses from the reality, this paper presents a case of an IS Performance Management System used to assess the value delivered by IT in RFI (Rete Ferroviaria Italiana), the manager of the Italian railroad infrastructure. © Springer-Verlag 2011.