Copyright © 2005, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. International Journal of Enterprise Information Systems, 1(2), 69-90, April-June 2005 69 Applying the FAP Model to the Evaluation of Strategic Information Technology Projects Frank Lefley, University of London, UK Joseph Sarkis, Clark University, USA ABSTRACT Over the past two decades, we have seen a growth in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems adoption by organisations. Even with the many benefits offered by such systems, there have also been many failures. One of the important reasons for these failures is inappropriate project evaluation and selection. In order to reduce the level of project failures, we introduce an innovative methodology, the Financial Appraisal Profile (FAP) model, which seeks to address some of the issues and limitations posed by standard appraisal and evaluation approaches for strategic technologies and programs. By making the right decision in the first place and involving senior managers in the appraisal process, the organisation will be better placed to achieve project success. The adoption of a management team approach to investment appraisals will not only enhance the information base, but will also result in greater managerial commitment to a project. We believe by adopting the FAP model, greater awareness to strategic issues and goals will also be achieved, which should lead to a more focused top management team — with all members pulling in the same direction. Keywords: enterprise resource planning; investment appraisal; strategic information technology; technology management INTRODUCTION Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRPII) systems are systems that coordi- nate resource planning with shop-floor con- trol, inventory, and other aspects of mate- rial management. Even as these systems proliferated in businesses in the last two decades and improved operational planning and decision making, managers began to realise that information needs to be inte- grated across the supply chain and across functions. Thus, over the last two decades, we have seen growth and adoption of En- terprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. The benefits of such an integrative system are especially likely to be felt by compa- nies with a global outreach and with many business units, causing Fortune 100 firms to invest heavily in these systems with the This paper appears in the journal International Journal of Enterprise Information Systems edited by Angappa Gunasekaran. Copyright © 2005, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission 701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Suite 200, Hershey PA 17033-1240, USA Tel: 717/533-8845; Fax 717/533-8661; URL-http://www.idea-group.com ITJ2805 IDEA GROUP PUBLISHING