"A CIO has to look at a network of separate variables that affect IT effectiveness. At the top level they are business alignment, process maturity, technical architecture, and human performance.
The CEO has a different perspective: All he or she usually cares about is cost, value, project success, and system uptime (and maybe performance).
Cost is easy.
The project success rate is easy.
System uptime and performance are semi-easy.
Value is the kicker, since IT is an enabler of value rather than a driver.
One approach: Make sure all projects define their expected business value - this is the business sponsor's responsibility, not IT's responsibility. If the only accepted value measure is money, insist that Finance provide an accepted means for translating various forms of intangible business benefits into financial measures. If your company makes use of a Balanced Scorecard, the impact of each project on the Balanced Scorecard measures should do."
(From: Infoworld.com, Advice Line by Bob Lewis, (c) IDG Network)
