These days, no one knows the ROI (return on investment) of an initiative. Projections made to win approval might not be in strict ROI terms. They might just say that by executing initiative X, some important metric would improve by 5%. It is not possible to determine ROI with just this information. But with the results of impact validation in place as above, you might be able to calculate the next best thing, the Return on Projection (ROP). If the said metric improved by 4% as against the projected 5%, the ROP, also called the benefits realization ratio, is 80%. Knowing this is way better than knowing nothing. It’s way better than believing that the initiative must have done well just because it was executed (delivered) correctly.
In a world where ROI from software is like a multi-leg parlay bet this author suggests taking a flow state view of how the solution introduces points of leverage and accelerates steps under the KPI. Thus providing a way to measure value.
You might not be able to say “This improves Top line KPI by X%” but you can say “this improves sub step b by X% which we anticipate will have y effect on top line KPI”
Quote Citation: Sriram Narayan, “The Reformist CTO’s Guide to Impact Intelligence”, 12 August 2025, https://martinfowler.com/articles/impact-intel.html#Example2RegulatoryComplianceAiAssistant