Which item belongs in an ROI analysis?
Why B is the answer
Ongoing run and support costs, as well as the build cost
ROI needs the full cost over time, alongside measured benefits.
In detail
- ROI must include run and support costs as well as the build.
- Include the cost of change as well.
Use case
An illustrative scenario, not a real incident.
A project looks profitable on build cost alone. Adding three years of hosting and support changes the answer.
See it in different ways
flowchart LR A["Costs: build, run, change"] --> C["ROI analysis"] B["Benefits: time, revenue, quality"] --> C C --> D["Decision"]
mindmap
root((Business case))
Cost
Build
Run
Support
Value
Baseline
Measured time saved
Risk
Data quality
Skills
Scope
Contained use case
Clear ownermindmap
root(("ROI analysis"))
n1["Costs"]
n2["Build"]
n3["Run"]
n4["Support"]
n5["Benefits"]
n6["Measured savings"]Key point: ROI needs the full cost over time.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. The number of slides in the project proposal
- Slides have no bearing on ROI.
- C. Only the licence price for the first month of use
- One month hides the real cost.
- D. Only the savings claimed in the vendor's brochure
- A brochure is not your measurement.