Use the Jinfo Model to develop an approach to understanding and measuring ROI
Jinfo Blog

By Robin Neidorf

Abstract

Value is more than cost or usage, searches or seats; the definition varies across organisations and is hard to quantify. Robin Neidorf introduces Jinfo's "Model for developing an approach to understanding and measuring value".

Item

If you are working on a strategic plan, budget, hiring request, training and development plan or project business case for your information service, you need to document the value it will deliver to your organisation. Jinfo's newly published "Model for developing an approach to understanding and measuring value" can help.

When creating the strategic plan for your information service for the coming year, which may require training and development or the scarce resource of staff time to engage in certain projects, you have to describe the value to your organisation and how you're going to measure it. 

When developing the business case for new products or services, or increased headcount, you have to establish expected return on investment. 

Value is more than cost or usage, searches or seats. We've all had the experience of reviewing countless articles in a database and not finding a single one that hits the mark, as well as the purchase of the single report for £99 with the exact right figure on page three. Clearly, the answer isn't to be found in usage statistics or purchase price.

So where does value lie? 

It doesn't exist within the information centre (or equivalent); it exists within the business itself - in the results that the provision of a product, service, training or project delivers to your internal customers, to THEIR customers and to the objectives of the business as a whole.

The fundamental problem is this:

Cost and usage data are relatively easy numbers for information professionals to capture and report. Quantifiable results to the business are not.

Jinfo has been working on this problem in partnership with customers across a range of industries for many years. What we've learned is that the definition of "value" will be unique to a particular organisation, and sometimes even to a specific part of an organisation. There isn't a "one-size-fits-all" formulation that guarantees success with your budget holders and decision-makers.

Ask the right questions

What we can provide, however, is a proven approach for asking and answering the right questions about your organisation, its objectives, your stakeholders and users to help you develop your own formula (or, more likely, set of formulas) to the question of value.

The articles, activities and recommendations in this "Jinfo model for developing an approach to understanding and measuring value" lay out the approach. 

Content in this report:

• Use the Jinfo Model to develop an approach to understanding and measuring ROI
• Strategic planning - value depends on context
• Strategic planning - aligning information strategy with the business
• Strategic planning - understanding stakeholders and what they value
• Strategic planning - setting strategic objectives

Full report (PDF) contains all of the above content, in a convenient package for reference and sharing: 

• Jinfo model for developing an approach to understanding and measuring value

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