Information systems investment has emerged as a high risk, hidden cost business. There is a shortage of information on how organizations go about the critical task of evaluating the feasibility of IS projects. Fifty small, medium and large, private and public sector, manufacturing and service organizations were investigated. The research looked at a range of issues neglected in the published literature. A variety of practice was uncovered. Respondents showed a limited degree of flexibility in and review of methods and criteria adopted. Most organizations still use traditional cost-benefit analysis and a limited number of criteria at the core of their evaluation process. Risk and ‘soft’ hidden costs are often not fully assessed. Further weaknesses are identified: in the extent to which user departments are involved, end users and trade unions consulted, and objectives of interested parties considered in the evaluation process. In particular, customer objectives are rarely considered despite the recognized need to assess competitive edge of IS projects. Moreover, most organizations do not seem to adopt methods or criteria that permit adequate assessment of competitive edge. The paper concludes with a discussion of better practice for organizations.