Note that the vertical axis represents IT resource categories, and the horizontal axis represents IT life cycle stages. The model's design is successful if
• Each axis covers the complete set of categories for that dimension that are useful to decision makers and planners, and
• The cost categories will capture the obvious costs but also the less-obvious, or "hidden" costs.
The two axes, that is, should convey self-evident completeness. If they do, there should be no unpleasant cost "surprises" appearing during implementation, and the analyst should not have to answer questions such as: "Why didn’t you include this? Or that?
As the example below shows, it is the choice of cost categories for each axis that gives the model its power as an analysis tool and as a communication tool.
The analysis continues by adding the names of resources to each cell. Resource items that go together in a cell should be those that are planned and managed together, and which may have common cost drivers. For a planned IT System acquisition, two of the model's cells might hold these resource names: