Most of the Fortune 1,000 are implementing or experimenting with blockchain applications, and thousands of small companies have launched pursuing some new blockchain business application in hopes of disrupting established businesses. Cryptocurrency is already popular and will explode in use as Facebook’s Libra rolls out.

Walmart and other big firms are mandating blockchain use, and all companies will be using blockchain over the next few years to stay competitive. The IBM-Maersk ocean shipping blockchain system claims a 40% cost savings. There are hundreds of blockchain applications in business use today, and more emerge daily. It is difficult to estimate the fit, feasibility and likely Return on Investment (ROI) of a blockchain application. Compared to a typical IT project where all aspects of the system and its use are inside your firm, blockchain applications are used for sharing information with business partners or customers and thus not completely under your control. Blockchain offers great potential benefit, but entails far more complications and uncertainty in ROI calculations. There are dozens of factors or criteria you need to consider in deciding whether or not to pursue a blockchain application, and to select which potential applications are the most promising, offering the best ROI. Many or most benefits may be intangible, like uncovering a shipping delay faster.

Blockchain is less about information technology than business process redesign—that normally requires involvement and support of business partners or customers to be worthwhile. So it is essential that the employees of your firm, in all areas of a business process impacted by a potential blockchain application be involved in the assessment process. If you ask one of the big consulting firms about blockchain for your firm, you’ll get a biased answer since they make much more money helping companies implement blockchain programs. You are better off doing blockchain application assessments and ROI estimates for your firm with your staff. You can learn to assess the best blockchain applications for your firm and estimate the likely Return On Investment yourself.

There are a multitude of blockchain applications that fit most firms, and deciding which has the best overall prospects for top ROI involves detailed analysis. The approach this course takes to assess whether a blockchain application is worth pursuing relies on a proven decision analysis tool called multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). We consider a range of ROI estimates in comparing alternatives—but also weigh other factors that may not be easily incorporated into ROI estimates. MCDA is ideal for highlighting intangibles and uncertainties for management that should not be buried in an ROI calculation or ignored because they are too uncertain or difficult to quantify.

In many cases you need to design and prototype a blockchain system to test with business partners and determine if it is feasible and worthwhile to pursue. Issues of data privacy and protection, interoperability and many other issues must be considered.

This advanced, comprehensive course on blockchain covers blockchain technology, business applications, how to assess BC fit and Return on Investment, design and implementation, and advanced uses and issues. This course teaches you what you need to know about blockchain business applications, the major benefits, costs and risks, common implementation problems, and a methodology to fully assess and estimate the likely ROI for blockchain applications for your firm. Students will receive the multi-criteria decision analysis software (that runs in Excel) as part of the course and a tailored Blockchain Return On Investment spreadsheet. Upon completing the course, graduates will be able to assess blockchain business applications for their firm, understand the design and operation of a private BC system, estimate the likely ROI, and present convincing results to decision-makers.