Case Study 2: Implementation Strategies

To: Charles Thompson, Cyber Security Manager

From: Janella Lawton, Cyber Analyst

Date: August 9, 2018

Subject: Implementation of New Proposed Information System

During implementation, I will be the leader of the project. This is so since I have IT background and experience working in the organization, so I understand the specific needs that the organization has. However, to be successful, there is the need for more people and resources to help in the process. To avoid ending up like Susie Jeffer, it is important that all tasks are identified in advance and the necessary resources, i.e., time, money, information and people are identified beforehand.

The building of the system will take five distinct steps. The first step is system needs analysis; second is the system design, third is system coding, fourth is testing and debugging while the last step is implementation and updating (Basil, 2012). To fully analyse the needs that the system has in the first step it is important to get the input from employees from all departments in the pharmacy to create a holistic system. Thus, the input from other employees is necessary.

During system design and coding, there will be the need for people with intricate software development knowledge to be brought into the project. These people will perform the design and coding functions to deliver the system that fulfills the needs of the organization. At this stage, there will be the need for money to pay the developers as well as the equipment that these developers will need.

In testing and debugging, there will be the need for people to test the system that should be from the organization. This way, any faults can be identified and corrected. Any needs that have not been met can also be corrected. Finally, during the rollout phase, there will be the need for people to train the employees on how to use the system.

The best way of incorporating the new system into the organization in a way that will not cause unnecessary friction is to involve the employees. It is important to give employees information on the reason why there is the need for a new information system and what this new system will mean for them. Getting employee feedback even before the development of the system commences is the best way to make sure that all are moving together.

New equipment and software will be necessary for the new system to run optimally. This is so since it is going to be a web-based system that has to be hosted on a remote server. Therefore, there is a need to purchase new hardware such as a file server as well as a database server for the web-based application. The computers that are currently in use with the desktop system will still be used thus; there is no need for more machines. However, there is a need for a network upon which the web-based application will run. This means that there will be the need to create an intranet in the organization for this purpose.

The staff will be trained on the functionality of the system from having a facilitated session with the developers. This facilitated session will include teaching the staff members the new features in the system as well as how to handle common functions and ensure that the integrity of the system remains uncompromised.

The employees will have finished the training process when they have attended at least two facilitated sessions and answered an online quiz that will be available online. This quiz will test the understanding of the employees in dealing with the new system. Those who can correctly complete the quiz will be allowed to activate their user accounts. Those who are not able to correctly complete the quiz should be given further training so that they are better able to use the system.

During the transition period, the staff members will use the old system parallel to the new one. Thus, orders will still be processed in the old system as the training and set up of the new system are done. However, once training has been done all through the organization, the old system will be completely phased out.

Various areas of resistance are anticipated. First, the employees are likely to resist change. Thus, it is important that they are involved every step of the way so that they do not resist the new system. Similarly, patients may be unwilling to give out personal information especially about medical conditions. This will be handled by reminding these patients that their medical records will be securely stored and there are legislations that protect this information. To improve the confidence of the patients, the pharmacy will inform the patients of their rights to manage the sharing of their personal information.

In conclusion, the process of implementing the proposed system will require the resources as identified above. There is also a need for training and rolling out of the system. By following the above guidelines, the creation and implementation of the new information system are likely to be more successful and seamless.

References

Basu, K. K. (2015). The Leader's Role in Managing Change: Five Cases of Technology-Enabled

Business Transformation. Global Business & Organizational Excellence, 34(3), 28-42.

Connelly, B., Dalton, T., Murphy, D., Rosales, D., Sudlow, D., & Havelka, D. (2016). Too Much of a Good Thing: User Leadership at TPAC. Information Systems Education Journal, 14(2), 34-42.

Bassil, Y. (2012). A simulation model for the waterfall software development life cycle. arXiv preprint arXiv:1205.6904.