Metrics for Assessing Return on Investment from Information Technology

Abstract

The rapid advancement of information technology (IT) is making it difficult for organizations to maintain end user knowledge and skills, and poor user performance negatively impacts the return on investment (ROI) for IT. Conventional training fails to meet the rapidly emerging learning needs of users, costs too much to provide the “just-in-time” learning that is needed, and fails to establish necessary contextual ties between learning and work processes. A solution to this challenge is proposed in the form of embedded learning events that are integrated with IT software tools and made available to users during the conduct of required job tasks. This approach reduces the cost of learning by precluding formal training and increasing the contextual relevance of learning activities. Certain IT capabilities and the learning strategies they afford are identified, mapped to “ROI Factors” and used to estimate the impact of different types of embedded IT learning on the return on investment for information technology.