Efficiency indices of investment in IT projects with equal lives

Abstract

Theoretical results not always give an unambiguous answer regarding the preference of using the indices of efficiency of investment in IT projects with equal lives. To complement some of such results, the Net Present Value (NPV), Profitability (PI) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) indices are researched by computer simulation. In this aim, a model of comparative analysis of projects with equal lives is defined and the SIMINV application is made up. Using SIMINV, the percentage of cases when the solutions, obtained according to indices of each of the pairs {NPV, PI}, {NPV, IRR}, {PI, IRR} or of the triplet {NPV, PI, IRR}, differ for seven groups of alternatives of initial data is determined. Based on done calculations, some properties of indices were identified, including: the quantitative features and the character of dependences on initial data; the average percentage of cases with different solutions, which is of approx. 9 % for the pair of indices PI and IRR, and of 34-35 % for the other two pairs of indices specified above. On average, the solutions of comparing the efficiency of projects with equal lives, obtained using the NPV, PI and IRR indices, does not coincide in more than 1/3 of cases.