SharePoint ROI Analysis Case Study

- SharePoint ROI Case Study

The structure of this SharePoint ROI case study is based on the Phillips ROI
Methodology model which provides a step by step process for collecting data,
summarizing and processing data, isolating the effects of programs,
converting data to monetary value and capturing the actual ROI.

IT Change Management Process

Greg Gignac - SharePoint Consultant
My SharePoint Portfolio


This ROI Analysis was for a project or business solution that was built for a
small company of less than 500 employees at the request of the CIO who was
the primary sponsor.

The Change Control Process solution is built upon a SharePoint 2010 site
titled “IT Support Teamsite” using an existing Microsoft SharePoint (MS) 2010
platform that is utilized as an employee intranet.

The solution included requirements that necessitated additional MS software
products such as InfoPath 2010 as well as third party products that are
designed to integrate within the SharePoint 2010 platform.



Specific SharePoint features and capabilities are referenced to give the reader
a better understanding of how information relevant to an ROI Analysis can be
collected inside this business solution, how it is available in the SharePoint
2010 platform and to help achieve a better understanding of how the solution
was built.

Costs associated with the SharePoint platform and other software costs were
not evaluated because they were deemed part of the existing IT infrastructure.


Glossary of Terms

SharePoint 2010 - a web application platform developed by Microsoft, first
launched in 2001, typically associated with web content management and
document management systems but it is actually a much broader platform of
web technologies capable of being configured into a wide range of solution
areas.

InfoPath 2010 - a software application for designing, distributing, filling and
submitting electronic forms containing structured data

Workflow - a workflow consists of a sequence of connected steps that can be
automated using software to provide routing of documents or assignment of
tasks

Tangible Benefits - benefits that can be quantified monetarily
.

Glossary of Terms cont’d

Intangible Benefits - benefits or detriments directly linked to a project that
cannot or should not be converted to monetary values

Records Center - the records center site template in MS SharePoint 2010 is
designed to help organizations implement their records management and
retention policy

Phillips ROI Methodology - The Phillips ROI Methodology™ model provides
a step-by-step process for collecting data, summarizing and processing data,
isolating the effects of programs, converting data to monetary value and
capturing the actual ROI

Change Control - Information Technology systems use a formal process to
ensure that changes to a product or system are introduced in a controlled and
coordinated manner

Glossary of Terms cont’d

Document Library - collection of files that you can share with team members
on a web based MS SharePoint site

Form Library - collection of InfoPath forms held in a library


Abstract
• OCARI TITAN is currently undergoing a full consolidation with its parent
company CANESS Corp which is a much larger global company.

• CANESS Corp is a well-established, heavily regulated company that has
different policies and procedures than OCARI TITAN.

• Over the past year, CANESS Corp auditors have been performing audits
on OCARI TITAN to confirm the company has systems and standards in
place to conform to current CANESS Corporate policies.

• One area that required a process change was the IT Change Management
process.


Abstract
• The Change Management process documents new changes applied to the
IT infrastructure and this process falls under the CIO who heads the IT
department.

• The existing Microsoft SharePoint 2010 platform currently deployed as an
Employee Intranet is being utilized to develop an IT site that will contain the
solution and also help showcase how SharePoint is being used within the
company.

• This ROI Analysis is based on the business solution that was developed to
meet the new requirements mandated by CANESS Corp.


Background

• The CIO at OCARI TITAN has had an ongoing IT initiative to incorporate
MS SharePoint 2010 into the organization to provide key functionality in the
form of an Employee Intranet, Extranet and as a development platform for
business solutions.

• Using the SharePoint 2010 platform provides the company with all of the
features included within SharePoint 2010 such as Enterprise Search,
Content and Records Management, Workflow, Websites, Collaboration and
many other useful business tools while still integrating the existing
Microsoft Office Suite currently utilized throughout the company. OCARI
TITAN currently has an Employee Intranet architected with sites to mirror
the existing departmental structure within the company.


Background
• To conform to new policies mandated by the parent company, the CIO has
decided to start by addressing the new requirement that all employees in
the IT Department have to document and record all changes that are
performed within the IT infrastructure.

• The CIO refers to this as a “Change Control Process” and believes this is
great fit for the SharePoint 2010 platform because it will leverage the
existing IT Portal which already provides secure access to all members of
the IT department.


Background
• The CIO would like to locate the new “Change Control Process” under one
specific site named “IT Support Teamsite” where all IT staff will be required
to document their changes.

• After analyzing the processes surrounding all of the IT infrastructure
changes, the CIO determines that to fully address all internal changes he
will also need to include the IT Access Request Process and IT Asset
Disposal Process in addition to the IT Change Control Process in order to
build a comprehensive solution.


Background
• By building and addressing the new requirement to implement a “Change
Control Process” within OCARI TITAN the CIO believes many efficiencies
and cost savings can be achieved resulting in a significant ROI by
decreasing employee time and consumables normally used in this type of
business process.

• In addition to tangible cost savings, the solution also provides many
intangible benefits such as accountability on behalf of each employee,
improved clarity for the change control process, team effectiveness with the
entire process viewable in one departmental site and the core solution of a
fully automated and auditable business process.


Background
• The solution will also provide many high-level tangible and intangible
benefits that help position the company to move forward with enterprise
level strategic goals such as going paperless, building an enterprise
content management strategy, automating records management, reducing
E-discovery risks and improving corporate-wide business processes.


Business Objectives
• The Change Control business solution originally stemmed from a policy
mandate requested from the parent company CANESS Corp and by
default was considered to be linked to the organization’s goals, strategic
objectives and legal obligations.

• The Change Control business solution is entirely software-based as are the
associated software technologies that provide the functionality to make this
type of solution possible. Due to these complexities of the business
solution, a Technical Objectives/Outline and Glossary is included in the
Analysis to help bridge how these technologies were utilized and provide
some insight into the solution components.


Business Objectives

The primary business objectives include;

•Create a new business process to document changes in the IT Infrastructure

•Create a one stop solution that addresses all components of IT change
management within OCARI TITAN in the form of an IT Support Teamsite

•Create a view of all the business processes in all stages of their lifecycle

•Build required approvals into the business process(s) where applicable


Business Objectives

The primary business objectives cont’d;

•Improve the business process and efficiencies in all three identified
businesses processes based on an ROI Analysis measuring process time,
paper document costs and direct labor cost savings

•The solution will provide a permanent records management architecture for
archiving all forms generated in the system

•Utilize and leverage the existing SharePoint 2010 platform to build and
house the solution

•Identify all areas within OCARI TITAN where the Change Control Process will
provide a tangible or intangible benefit


Technical Objectives/Outline
Website

•SharePoint 2010 Site will be created under the IT Departmental hierarchy
titled “IT Support Teamsite” which will hold the entire “Change Control
Process” business solution.

•The solution will be comprised of; lists and document libraries to hold and
present accumulated information, form libraries to pull information into the
system via electronic forms, automated routing of forms via workflow, form
conversion into records and archival storage of records in a dedicated IT
“Records Center


Electronic forms

•The Change Control solution consists of 3 distinct business processes that
have been developed into InfoPath 2010 electronic forms;

IT Access Request Form - allows end users to request specific access to IT
infrastructure

IT Asset Disposal Form - allows IT department employees to account for
disposal of all IT assets

IT Change Control Form - allows IT department employees to gain approval
for requested IT infrastructure changes, document changes, create record of
changes


Workflow

•All business processes in the Change Control solution are automated using
Nintex workflow 2010. The workflow provides the engine that automates the
routing of documents at designated times to specific individuals to receive
approval and continue on their designated paths to their completed end state
or lifecycle.

•Each business process has at least one specific workflow acting upon the
information initially submitted via the electronic form;

IT Access Request workflow

IT Asset Disposal workflow

IT Change Control workflow

Document Libraries

•Each business process identified under “IT Support Teamsite” generically
corresponds to a specific document or form library used to store and present
the information that is collected via the electronic forms.

IT Access Request Form Library - holds IT Access requests forms

IT Asset Disposal Form library - holds IT Asset Disposal Forms

IT Change Control Library - holds IT Change Control Library

IT Form History Document Library - used to present a historical view of all
process forms that are submitted into the system.


Record Creation

• All forms utilized under the “IT Support Teamsite” initially exist as InfoPath
forms which need to be converted into PDF document types in order to be
stored as records for their final lifecycle stage. This process is initiated by
Nintex workflow and utilizes third party software Muhimbi PDF converter to
achieve this record conversion requirement.

Record Center

•A SharePoint 2010 Records Center in the architecture of a site collection has
been created to house all IT records and it is this location where all PDF
records are stored in their final state where they can be referenced or audited


ROI Objectives/Analysis
• While it is possible to breakdown the Return on Investment (ROI) on many
levels, this ROI analysis focused on specific tangible benefits (those that
were converted to monetary savings) as outlined below and intangible
benefits (benefits incurred by the business solution that do not easily
convert to monetary values or were not converted to monetary values
based on limited resources).

• The Change Control business solution originally stemmed from a policy
mandate requested from the parent company CANESS Corp and by
association was considered to be linked to the organization’s goals,
strategic objectives and legal obligations.


• The ROI analysis will evaluate the new business solution up to level 4
using the Phillips ROI methodology.

1. Reaction and Perceived Value
2. Learning
3. Application/Implementation
4. Business Impact


• The “Change Management Process” implemented in the form of a
SharePoint site was a new creation as well the Change Control Form
process so no historical information could be obtained for standard values
such as number of site hits or number of Change Control forms submitted
in a previous year.

• The number of Change Control forms that would be submitted is based on
an estimate by the CIO considered to be the SME (Subject Matter Expert).


• The IT Asset Disposal and IT Access Request processes are existing
paper-based business processes that could be mined for historical
information such as number of pages printed, number of forms generated
in the previous year, and the employee time required to use and manage
the respective business processes.

• The actual values used to calculate the employee time spent on form
tasks and paper costs was solicited from the CIO (process owner),
employees and managers actively using the process(s).

1. Cost per employee hour is based on an average of IT employee salaries.
2. Paper and printing costs were calculated based on known consumable
values within OCARI TITAN.
3. All calculations were based on or calculated for a one year period of time.


IT Asset Disposal
Costs were calculated based on number of assets disposed of in 2010

IT Access Requests
Costs were calculated based on number IT Access requests submitted in
2010

IT Change Control
Since this was a new process, the number of items that were submitted after
30 days was used to estimate the total number of forms that may be submitted
in the course of a year.

•The Change Management Process was a requirement by the parent company
CANESS Corp and as such was never evaluated on whether it would provide
a Level 5 ROI because it was considered mandatory.


Tangible Items Calculated
• 1 Year Total Cost - Paper Process vs. Automated Business Processes

• Cost of single form transaction

• IT Access Form Total Cost 1 Year

• IT Asset Disposal Form Cost 1 Year

• IT Asset Change Control Form 1 Year

• 1 Year Total Time - Paper Process vs. Automated Business Processes

• Total employee time per process - Paper Process vs. Automated Business
Processes



Standard Values/Estimates
*applicable to all form processes
Average Cost of Employee per hour $50/hr.
Time spent filling out paper forms 5 min
Time transporting paper forms 45 min
Time spent by manager approving paper forms 2 min
Cost per printed page .03 ₵
# of IT Access Forms/Year 210
# of IT Asset Disposal forms/Year 220
# of IT Asset Change Control Forms/Year 900
Time spent filling out electronic form 1.5 min
Time spent transporting electronic form 0
Time spent by approving manager electronic form .166/min (10 seconds)



Level 4 Impact of Change Management Business Solution
Original Paper Processes Automated Business Processes
Calculation Cost Calculation Cost
Time spent filling out form .83₵/min * 5 min $04.15 .83₵/min *1.5 min $01.25
Time spent transporting forms .83₵/min *45 min $37.50 .83₵/min * 0 min $00.00
Time spent approving by manager .83₵/min *2 min $01.65 .83₵/min * . $00.15
166/min
Cost of printed page .03₵/page * 1 page - 2 min $00.03 .03₵/page * 0 $00.00
Cost of single form transaction $43.33 $01.40
Time per process(est.) 54 min 1.666 min
IT Access Forms/1 Year 210 * $43.33 $9,099.30 210 * $01.40 $294.00
IT Asset Disposal Forms/1 Year 220 * $43.33 $9,532.60 220 * $01.40 $308.00
IT Asset Change Control Form/1 Year 900 * $43.33 $45,000.00 900 * $01.40 $1,260.00
Total 1 Year Cost $63,631.90 $1,863.40
Total 1 Year 1197 hours 37 hours


Intangible Items
Each new automated process under the IT Support Teamsite for the Change
Control Process provides;

Accountability
- All forms generated in the system are automatically tagged with “creator”

- Form libraries incorporate “count” feature to view number of documents
submitted by each employee

- Automated workflow identifies which employee is completing specified
business process


Intangible Items

Clarity
- All generated forms are automatically routed to Records Center

- All IT forms in the system can be viewed by IT staff form from the “Form
History” interface

- Business process is auditable

Team Effectiveness
- All IT Change Control forms can be evaluated in one place by the entire IT
department and management.


Intangible Items

Process Efficiency
- Business processes are completed in a timelier manner providing business
continuity

Auditability
- All Change Control forms can now be audited via a dedicated Records
Center

- Audits on Change Control forms can performed from remote locations using
the integrated extranet capabilities
(Reduced travel time and costs to perform onsite audit)


Intangible Items

Employee Time Savings Auditing
- time savings for CIO not having to manage process

Reduced Impact on Environment
- using less paper helps the environment by not utilizing trees, printer inks and
CO2 emissions associated with transporting these items..


ROI Analysis Plan

Data Items Methods for isolating the Methods of Converting Cost Intangible benefits Communication Other Comments
Effects of the Data to Monetary Categories Targets for Final influences/Issues
Program/Process Values Report During Application

Reduce time to use CIO estimate/ Employee time in - Process Efficiency CIO
business processes Company Records minutes/hours - Clarity
vs. current process processing forms - Team Effectiveness
converted to average - Records Management
employee hourly cost

Reduce cost of CIO estimate Calculate average cost - Re-allocation of CIO
existing business per form multiplied by resources
processes vs. number of forms per
current process year

Reduce or Company Records/CIO Cost per printed page -Environment al Impact CIO
eliminate paper Estimates
costs


ROI – Change Control Process Project Plan
ROI Tasks JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC
Decision to conduct ROI study
Evaluation planning complete
Instruments of design are identified
Instruments are tested
Level 1 Relevancy of Project (satisfaction/reaction)
Level 1 Value of Project (satisfaction/reaction)
Level 1 Solution design and structure (satisfaction/reaction)
Level 2 Using IT Support Teamsite (learning/education)
Level 2 Using applicable process form (learning/education)
Level 2 Understanding system components (learning/education)
Level 2 Process status/IT Form History/Lifecycle (learning education)
Level 3 IT Department utilizing IT Support Teamsite (assign form approvers etc.)
Level 3 Process forms being utilized
Level 3 Audit processes and sites
Level 4 Data Collect (reduction in time current to new process)du
Level 4 Data Collect (reduction in costs current to new process)
Level 4 Data Collect (reduction in paper usage)
Analysis Conducted
Report is Written
Report Printed
Results Communicated
Implementation Complete



IT Support Site and Business Processes Project Evaluation Schedule



Data Collection Plan – Change Control Process


Conclusions

This analysis focused on showing the business impact achieved by
automating current business processes and the benefits provided a large
reduction in time, money and consumables. The new processes provide a
cumulative cost savings of $61,768.50, a reduction of 1160 employee hours
(29 weeks @ 40 hours) and the elimination of 1330 printed pages.

It is believed future business process improvements will provide even greater
business impacts and larger ROIs for the company now that specific
knowledge and technical expertise thresholds have been achieved. The
automated business processes outlined in this analysis will also help create a
snowball effect by providing the templates, processes and workflows that can
be leveraged for future business process improvements.


Conclusions
While this analysis evaluated benefits acquired over the course of one year
the new solution provides the company with permanent efficiencies, one
example being that after a paper based process is converted to an electronic
form and workflow the original paper documents will no longer need to be
printed as they can be referenced via SharePoint sites or a records center
throughout their entire lifecycle.

In determining the full benefits associated with a new business process or
program it is important to isolate the effects associated or attributed to that
process. The improvements that are achieved by automating existing business
processes or Business Process Management (BPM) as seen in with the IT
Change Management process provide a high level of transparency into the
efficiencies that can be achieved once standard or base costs are evaluated.
The inherent transparency and structure of the software solution provides the
isolating mechanisms with which to evaluate its benefits while also supporting
its credibility.

Conclusions
Many benefits not evaluated but worth mentioning span both the
tangible/intangible benefits evaluation structure because the business solution
was built using the existing resources of the IT infrastructure (SharePoint 2010
platform) at OCARI TITAN which in itself provides an ROI on the initial
software investment. The ROI could also be evaluated on many cost saving
levels such as reduced development time, avoided soft purchasing and
licensing requirements and overall enterprise level process improvements.

Using SharePoint as the primary platform to automate and improve business
processes requires a significant investment in time, money and resources as
well as high level of in-house expertise to adapt existing business processes
to these new technologies.

The project was considered a success because it fulfilled its original business
objectives (mandate) and by the tangible and intangible benefits achieved and
outlined in the analysis.

References
IBM – No Paper Weight ROI Assessment - Prepared by Cohasset
Associates, Inc. May 2008

Digital Signatures for Document Workflow and SharePoint – ©AIIM 2010
www.aiim.org/©ARX 2010

ROI Calculation for Digital Signatures - CoSign By Arx December 2010

Show Me The Money – How to Determine ROI in People, Projects and
Programs by Jack J. Phillips & Patricia Pulliam Phillips


SharePoint ROI Analysis Case Study

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