Productivity measures for information systems

While much has been written concerning information systems productivity, defining and measuring it have proved to be difficult. There are few, if any, recognized standards, and those tools that are used with regularity tend to be technically oriented. Senior executives find the results provided them by these techniques difficult to interpret in ways meaningful to them and to the decisions they must make. It is clear that many top managers have become frustrated with this state of events and that they are determined to improve the situation. Methods for doing this, however, are not readily available. A variety of techniques which have been or which are used in practice are described, together with their strengths and weaknesses. Some of these are extremely technical in nature, others are not. Further, an attempt is made to describe a set of comprehensive measures. In addition, steps being taken by one organization to remedy senior executive frustration with information systems productivity measures are outlined in the context of a case study. Also, a method for presenting information productivity results in business terms also is demonstrated.