Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:
The CGEIT Review Manual 8th Edition, in its Benefits Realization domain, stresses the importance of evaluating IT investments to ensure they deliver sustained value to the enterprise. The IT steering committee needs a holistic approach to assess benefits, not just financial metrics at specific points.
Option D: Measure value creation throughout the economic life cycle is the best approach. This involves tracking benefits (e.g., revenue growth, cost savings, customer satisfaction) from project initiation through implementation and into ongoing operations, ensuring the investment delivers value over its full lifecycle. For example, a new CRM system’s benefits (e.g., improved sales) should be measured post-implementation to confirm sustained value. The manual likely references COBIT 2019’s APO05-Managed Portfolio, which advocates for lifecycle-based value management.
Option A: Measure ROI during implementation is premature, as ROI is most meaningful post-implementation when benefits are realized.
Option B: Measure NPV during stage gate review is useful for decision-making but focuses on financial projections at a single point, not actual benefits.
Option C: Measure planned versus actual spend tracks costs, not benefits, and is irrelevant to value creation.
Double Verification: The answer aligns with COBIT’s emphasis on lifecycle value management and the CGEIT domain’s focus on benefits realization. Lifecycle measurement is a standard ISACA practice for IT investments.
ISACA CGEIT Review Manual 8th Edition, Domain 3: Benefits Realization (focus on value measurement).
COBIT 2019, APO05-Managed Portfolio.
ISACA Glossary (for definitions of value creation), available at https://www.isaca.org/resources/glossary.
