Date of Award

9-1998

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Abstract

Information technology investment has become a significant part of the Department of Defense's budget. The Information Technology Management Reform Act requires that government quantitatively evaluate future information technology investments. Quantitative evaluation of IT investments present special problems for agencies that do not generate incoming cash flows. This thesis is designed to examine models that are currently being used in the public and private sector of the economy to evaluate Information Technology investments to learn which ones might serve the needs of the United States Air Force. The methodology is an exploratory study based on Criterion based Congruence Analysis. This technique is designed to collect information and then filter it to surface the information that is pertinent to the research question. This research uncovered 18 models that use a variety of methods to value information technology. Of these models, five could currently be used by the Air Force based on the availability of the required data. These models are: Cost Benefit Analysis, Cost of Information Management, IT Spending, Residual Value, and the Balanced Scorecard. There are two additional models that may contribute to investment decisions in very specific circumstances. These models are: Business Profitability, and information Productivity.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-GIR-LAL-98S-10

DTIC Accession Number

ADA354295

Comments

Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Logistics and Acquisition Management of the Air Force Institute of Technology

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