The most common definition of LOC seems to count any line that is not a blank or comment line, regardless of the number of statements per line.

The time it takes from the time a product is envisioned or defined until it is in the market.

Planned ROI and Actual ROI are two different things and very often they are used interchangeably.  So in shared services, if you outsource within US you can get 15% ROI and if it is off shored you can expect 30% to 40% ROI.  For a very long time, these were the numbers that were floating around (with minor variations).  Otherwise there will be a huge gap between Planned ROI (what you think will be in the cash box) and Actual ROI (what is actually in the cash box)

Here are some best practices to minimize the gap between Planned ROI and Actual ROI

• Communicate clearly what ROI is expected out of Globalization efforts.
• Differentiate between First Year ROI and Ongoing (steady state) ROI to avoid confusion and set expectations.
• Factor in all the costs (TCO- Total Cost of Ownership).  Do not leave out any costs required to make the ROI reach a particular target.  Call a spade a spade.
• Document and communicate top 3 assumptions associated with the ROI (For example, you can state that in order to achieve 35% ROI, you have made the assumption that the implementation process will be completed in 6 weeks).
• Clearly define what will happen if the assumption is not met, at least directionally.  For example, in the case above you can state that for every additional week delay in implementation process, the ROI for the 1^st year will be lowered by 2%.  With little effort you can easily model such impacts (or you can call Zinnov and we love to help you with such modelingJ).
• Define all the tracking and reporting mechanisms needed to capture actual ROI.
• And finally, in the event that you deviate away from the goal, do not strike the panic button and state that Globalization does not work.  Conduct a Root Cause analysis and approach it like you would with any other problem.

So let’s review in simple terms:

Planned ROI – Actual ROI = Zero (you are doing as planned).

Planned ROI – Actual ROI = +ve (Not good. Conduct a rapid assessment to decipher what is going on. Often, you do not need consultants for this though we are happy to take your money and find the same problems you would have found anyways).

Planned ROI- Actual ROI = -ve ( You may be celebrating because you made more than you planned but it also reflects poorly on your planning.  You should call us because we can give you some good peer group “benchmarks”)

number of requirements which were fulfilled with some reusable code / total requirements fulfilled.