ROI Calculator

Numbers talk. In this lab, you'll build a reusable framework for calculating and communicating the ROI of AI initiatives. This is the tool that gets projects funded.

What you'll create:

• A complete ROI calculation methodology
• A spreadsheet/template for repeated use
• A presentation-ready business case

Select an AI initiative to analyze:

Option A: Customer Service Automation AI handles Tier 1 support tickets, reducing agent workload.

Option B: Content Generation Pipeline AI accelerates content creation for marketing team.

Option C: Document Processing Automation AI extracts data from invoices/contracts, replacing manual entry.

Option D: Sales Email Personalization AI personalizes outreach emails based on prospect data.

Option E: Your Project An AI initiative you're actually considering.

Quantify the Baseline

CURRENT STATE ANALYSIS
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Process: [Name of process]
Owner: [Who's responsible]
Frequency: [How often does this happen?]

VOLUME METRICS:
• Units processed per month: ____
• Time per unit: ____ minutes
• Error rate: ____%

LABOR METRICS:
• FTEs involved: ____
• Average hourly cost (fully loaded): $____
• Total monthly labor hours: ____
• Total monthly labor cost: $____

QUALITY/SPEED METRICS:
• Current cycle time: ____
• Current quality score: ____
• Customer satisfaction: ____

PAIN POINTS (with cost impact):
1. [Pain point]: $____ monthly impact
2. [Pain point]: $____ monthly impact
3. [Pain point]: $____ monthly impact
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Show Your Work

For each metric, document your source:

Define the AI Solution

PROPOSED AI SOLUTION
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Solution description:
[What AI will do]

Integration approach:
[How it connects to existing systems]

Human oversight model:
[Where humans remain in the loop]

Expected impact by metric:
• Volume capacity: ___% increase
• Time per unit: ___% decrease
• Error rate: ___% decrease
• Quality score: ___% increase
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Estimate Improvements

Use a conservative, moderate, and optimistic range:

Use moderate estimates for your primary business case.

One-Time Costs

Ongoing Costs

Total Cost of Ownership (3-Year)

Year 1: One-time ($____) + Ongoing ($____) = $____
Year 2: Ongoing ($____) = $____
Year 3: Ongoing ($____) = $____
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3-Year TCO: $____

Quantified Benefits

Direct Cost Savings:

Revenue/Capacity Impact:

Soft/Strategic Benefits (describe, don't quantify):

• [Benefit 1: Why it matters]
• [Benefit 2: Why it matters]
• [Benefit 3: Why it matters]

Total Annual Value

Direct savings:     $____
Revenue impact:     $____
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TOTAL ANNUAL VALUE: $____

ROI Calculation

FIRST YEAR ROI
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First-Year Value:            $____
First-Year Total Cost:       $____
First-Year Net Value:        $____
First-Year ROI: (Net/Cost) × 100 = ____%
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THREE-YEAR ROI
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3-Year Value:                $____
3-Year TCO:                  $____
3-Year Net Value:            $____
3-Year ROI: ____%
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Payback Period

Monthly net benefit: $____ (Annual ÷ 12)
Total investment:    $____

Payback period: Investment ÷ Monthly benefit = ____ months

Sensitivity Analysis

What if your assumptions are wrong?

One-Page Business Case

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[PROJECT NAME] - AI Investment Recommendation
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THE OPPORTUNITY
[2-3 sentences on the business problem and proposed solution]

THE NUMBERS
                        Year 1    3-Year Total
Investment Required:    $____     $____
Value Generated:        $____     $____
Net Value:              $____     $____
ROI:                    ____%     ____%

Payback Period: ____ months

KEY BENEFITS
• [Quantified benefit 1]
• [Quantified benefit 2]
• [Strategic benefit]

RISK ASSESSMENT
Even with conservative estimates (-30% value), this initiative
delivers ___% ROI. Key risks include [risk 1] and [risk 2],
mitigated by [mitigation approach].

RECOMMENDATION
[Approve/Proceed with pilot/Further analysis needed]

Request: $____ investment with [timeline]

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Create a complete business case package:

1. ROI Calculator Spreadsheet

   • Current state inputs
   • Cost calculations
   • Benefit calculations
   • ROI formulas
   • Sensitivity analysis

2. Documentation

   • Assumptions with sources
   • Methodology notes
   • Confidence levels

3. Executive Summary

   • One-page business case
   • Key metrics highlighted
   • Clear recommendation

4. Template

   • Clean version of calculator
   • Ready for future projects

Present to a Skeptic

Using AI, role-play presenting this business case to:

1. A skeptical CFO who wants to see conservative numbers
2. A CIO who's worried about technical risk
3. A business unit leader who fears job losses

Document the objections raised and how you'd address them.