By the numbers

  • By Wilson P. Dizard III
  • Jul 16, 2003
Federal IT investment planners don't usually wear black tie and sip dry martinis as they evaluate systems purchases. But they can use a statistical technique named after an exclusive gambling center when planning projects.

The CIO Council recommends using value-measuring methodology to calculate costs, benefits and values of IT investments. In evaluating projects' costs and risks, the methodology uses Monte Carlo simulations, named after the city in Monaco known for its casinos.

The simulations are similar to those governing the possible outcomes from slot machines. They provide numerous scenarios by repeatedly picking random values for uncertain variables, such as the individual cost elements of a project.

A Monte Carlo simulation typically consists of 2,500 to 10,000 versions of the calculation.

Featured

  • Records management: Look beyond the NARA mandates

    Pandemic tests electronic records management

    Between the rush enable more virtual collaboration, stalled digitization of archived records and managing records that reside in datasets, records management executives are sorting through new challenges.

  • boy learning at home (Travelpixs/Shutterstock.com)

    Tucson’s community wireless bridges the digital divide

    The city built cell sites at government-owned facilities such as fire departments and libraries that were already connected to Tucson’s existing fiber backbone.

Stay Connected