04Return · a closer look
The full cost of the change
Which costs must be counted against the benefit for the same investment period?Illustrative contractor case · no figures are given or implied
| Cost row | What it covers | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Setup, integration and data | Configuration, connections and data cleanup | Estimate, or mark unknown |
| Training and adoption | Teaching staff and changing routines | Estimate, or mark unknown |
| Management and internal effort | The manager's supervision and staff time spent on the change | Estimate, or mark unknown |
| Licenses, usage and infrastructure | Subscription and usage fees: one row among several | Estimate, or mark unknown |
| Human review, exceptions and corrections | Checking matches, correcting drafts, handling misroutes; counted once here, not again as delivery cost | Estimate, or mark unknown |
| Upkeep | Keeping the change working through the period | Estimate, or mark unknown |
| Downstream capacity, where required | Only where not already counted in delivery cost | Estimate, or mark unknown |
Subscriptions are one row among several
License and usage fees are one line in the ledger. Setup, integration, data cleanup, training and the manager's supervision time are real costs even when no new invoice arrives for them.
Review and exceptions cost people time
Staff checking AI matches, correcting drafts, handling misroutes and resolving exceptions spend internal effort. That effort belongs in the change cost, counted once and not again as delivery cost.
Same period, unknowns visible
Every cost, including upkeep and any downstream capacity added to deliver the work, belongs in the same chosen investment period as the benefit. Mark uncertain items unknown rather than quietly omitting them.
Decision for your leadership teamWho owns the cost list, and which rows are still unknown for our proposed change?
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