When should I engage my IT resources in a business initiative?

Ever been in this situation? You are meeting with business stakeholders and they present a new idea that needs technical solutions. You made sure you clearly understood the mission, goals and requirements to bring the idea back to your Information Technology (IT) resources. Are you really ready to engage IT ?

No. Your IT resources are precious and you don't want them scoping every idea that comes along. I would propose going back to the beginning of this scenario. It is not enough to understand the mission, goals and requirements of an initiative. You also need to understand the business problem, value and priority.
There are some basic questions I ask of the business before bringing IT resources into the mix.

1) What is the problem the business is trying to solve? So often we jump into solutions without truly understanding the real problem. Maybe the problem could be solved via a process vs. a system. If that is the case, you likely saved you IT partners at least 8 hours of scoping.
2) What is the business value? You are going to need this to do any type of ROI, so get it up front. If the business has not thought this through, help them figure it out.
3) What is the priority of this effort to the business? Do they understand that scoping this initiative may take people off of other projects or slow projects down? If you clearly lay out the time commitment and the trade offs for the business, they will make the priority decision.
4) Once you understand the problem, value and priority to the business you can create the mission and the goals WITH the business.
5) When gathering the basic requirements, be sure to clarify the priority of the requirements. Which are "must haves" which are "important" and which are "nice to have". This will help your IT resources determine cost estimates for different scenarios.
6) Realistically, when do they want this initiative delivered. Everything can't and shouldn't be delivered in 3 months. The timing will affect the cost. You have to understand scope and timing before you can ever estimate resources/cost.
7) Does the business have a budget in mind? I am not talking exact numbers, but I am talking about ranges... under $250k, up to $500k, $1M? If you know the business value and you understand their budget constraints you have a clearer picture. You won't always be able to get to this... the business may say- "I have no idea, can you give me a ballpark of how much you think it will be?". I would advise that you not give any ballparks until you have looped in your IT partners!

Until you understand all of these questions, I would suggest you let your IT resources work on their current priorities. Asking these questions and coming up with a true business case will not only save you time, but it will also save you money. I would also advise that this become a process. Everyone should clearly understand what needs to be done before an initiative is brought to IT. I promise you, this WILL pay off in the end.