ABSTRACT
Big data has created a foundation upon which competitive advantage can be created, sustained, and increased. However, it is the case that big data project managers are frequently unaware that financial planning is paramount to ensure return on investment. Otherwise, their projects may require more capital investment than they should and yield less financial returns. As a result, some of the projects they are responsible for may become unattractive or unfeasible from the financial point of view and have to be abandoned. This chapter presents a method to maximize the return on investment in big data projects. The method takes advantage of the fact that these projects are often divided into 386interrelated subprojects. Moreover, it acknowledges the fact that not all subprojects are necessarily going to be run. In addition, the order in which these subprojects are actually run may alter the financial value of big data projects as a whole. All of this provides big data project managers with a tool that allows them to make better financial decisions and increase the chances of having their projects selected for implementation.
