IT Investment Rationalizer (COBIT APO05)

Overview

Draft ROI and NPV narratives for IT investments and value-based business cases. Ensures Benefits Realization Plan includes measurable KPIs. Includes benefit realization check.

Example Conversation

You: We need a business case for our new CRM project — costs, ROI, and benefits. Make sure the benefits are measurable, not vague.

Agent: I’ll draft the business case with ROI (Net Gains − Cost) / Cost and NPV narrative, plus a Benefits Realization Plan with measurable KPIs and timeframes, then run benefit_realization_check.

Agent: Created business-case-crm-apo05.md. Running benefit_realization_check…

Agent: FAIL — benefits section has vague language (“improved efficiency”, “better visibility”) without measurable KPIs. I’ve replaced them with: “Reduce lead-to-close time by 15% within 12 months (baseline: 45 days); increase pipeline visibility (dashboard adoption target 90% by Q2).” Re-running the check…

Agent: PASS — Benefits Realization Plan now includes measurable KPIs, targets, and timeframes. Ready for portfolio review.

What the Tools Validate

benefit_realization_check scans a business case or Benefits Realization Plan (Markdown or text):

• Measurable: Looks for KPIs, metrics, targets, percentages, timeframes (e.g. “reduce by 15%”, “99.9% uptime”, “within 12 months”, “ROI: 1.2”).
• Vague: Flags benefit phrasing without metrics (e.g. “improved efficiency”, “better visibility”, “cost savings” without a number or baseline). The check focuses on the benefits/outcomes section.
• Rule: The document must contain measurable benefits and must not rely only on vague benefit language. PASS if measurable KPIs/targets are present and vague-only benefits are not the sole content; FAIL otherwise.
• Output: PASS or FAIL with short guidance. Fix by adding measurable KPIs, baselines, and timeframes (APO05).

Output Excerpt

Benefits Realization Plan (excerpt):

## Benefits Realization (APO05)

| Benefit              | KPI / target                    | Timeframe   |
|----------------------|----------------------------------|-------------|
| Shorter sales cycle  | Lead-to-close −15% (baseline 45 d) | 12 months   |
| Pipeline visibility  | Dashboard adoption 90%          | Q2          |
| Support cost         | Ticket volume −20%               | FY26        |

ROI = (Net Gains − Cost) / Cost. Assumptions and NPV in Appendix.

benefit_realization_check report (excerpt):

=== BENEFIT REALIZATION CHECK (APO05) ===
Result: PASS

Document: business-case-crm-apo05.md
Measurable KPIs, targets, or timeframes found in benefits.
No vague-only benefits.
Benefits Realization Plan includes measurable KPIs.

Getting Started

Add your investment outline (costs, expected outcomes) and any existing benefits list to the project workspace, then activate the IT Investment Rationalizer (COBIT APO05) skill. The agent will draft the business case and run benefit_realization_check until benefits are measurable.