Science and Art in Project Assessment

The dominant view in the information systems (IS) andsoftware engineering literature is that theapplication of a rigorous pre-investment assessmentmethodology is the key to ensuring the selection ofthe best projects - that is those with the highestexpected value for the organisation and with thehighest probability of success. While the literatureis replete with methodologies that take a narrow viewof project assessment there is insufficientattention given to the evaluation process itself andto what constitutes successful project assessment.This book deals aims to provide in-depth knowledge ofproject assessment processes in practice andre-conceptualise the notion of the project proposalthe evaluation process and evaluation methodologythat reflect the needs and critical issues inpractice. These aims are achieved by conducting anin-depth case study of project assessment processesin a company with a history of high success rates ofits projects ($3 billion worth of successfullydelivered projects in the past few years).