The basis for choosing the numbers that will appear in the budget; that is, the assumptions and formulas that are used to justify a budget request. My argument is that given the uncertainties of IT and the seeming difficulty of controlling it, enterprises have often chosen targets in a way that does not consider the implications of an IT budget on the overall financial picture of the company, for example, limiting spending that will result in a positive marginal return.
— War and Peace and IT: Glossary, Mark Schwartz