Information System Management "Discussion Question"

BBA 3551, Information Systems Management 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VI Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

5. Evaluate the approaches to developing organizational knowledge management strategies.

Reading Assignment Chapter 10: Development Processes

Unit Lesson In Unit V, we discussed uses of social media for developing personal brand, the use of reporting on mobile devices, some innovative applications for mobile and the cloud, and the unique application of social networking for health care. In this unit, we will discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes, the different methods for developing information systems, the systems development life cycle (SDLC), and business process management. PRIDE as an Information System The meeting described at the beginning of Part 4, Chapter 10 (pages 373-374) is a typical example of a new software venture. The inventors and creators are so focused on the technology and whether they can make it work that they neglect to consider what will happen, long term, if it is a success. Who will manage the success? As the reality sinks in, Jason, on whom many of the un-addressed procedural problems have fallen, wishes they had never started this project. Dr. Flores’ partners are either against it (Vesper) or neutral (Lomar). They need Maggie’s voice of experience to tell them what to do. Many of the problem solutions involve staff training and procedures. Maggie and Jason need to teach Dr. Flores’ staff not to respond to equipment problems, but rather to direct those issues to the help line of the equipment vendors. Patients may resent that, too, though, so many other options need to be addressed. Maggie mentions the health clubs. They might be willing to become involved if they can see a way that it will result in increased revenue to them. Perhaps Maggie can suggest they start a fee-based support program. Or are there other options? In the long term, Dr. Flores and his partners need a strategy. What are they going to do with PRIDE? Right now they have a prototype application. What’s next? Are they going to run it just for their practice/hospital? Do they want to broaden it, raise money to start a company, support it, market it, and sell it? It would seem they need medical equipment or a medical software partner. Perhaps they can find a successful angle investor who can lead them to the appropriate partner, but to do that, they need a strategic plan. They also need an estimate of costs and the potential upside. From an IS perspective, Maggie and her staff need to determine the requirements for the procedure and people components. They also need to create a realistic budget of what will be required to finish the system, which probably means additional testing of the software and additional testing of security and privacy aspects of the system. They will also need to create documentation and conduct training. Below is an example of a testing request process using a swim-lane layout (Figure 1).

UNIT VI STUDY GUIDE

Development Process

BBA 3551, Information Systems Management 2

PRIDE needs an IS, not just an application. Both business and systems analysts have a role here. This scenario illustrates the differences between an application program and a system, so remember this when you participate in IS development projects. The Real Estimation Process There are many formal methods for scheduling, and there are many companies that have attempted to implement some of those methods. But invariably, requirements change, personnel depart, management loses patience with the discipline required to manage schedules, or some other factor invalidates the good intentions of the project’s managers. Companies that have an effective process for scheduling software projects are extremely rare. If anyone had figured software scheduling out, you would think it would be Microsoft. But look how late some of their applications were. Clearly, Microsoft does not know how to do it either. The Software Institute at Carnegie Mellon developed the software maturity model that rates organizations on their use of effective developmental processes. Perhaps some of that model’s level-4 or level-5 companies know how to schedule software development and how to manage that schedule. These are some things to remember about schedule risk:

1. Software developers are optimists. Ensure they have no planned schedules assuming that people work full time. People cannot work all the time –they get sick, go to the dentist, serve jury duty, write employee evaluations, sit on design reviews, apply for patents, and so on. Plans should apply a factor like 0.6 to compute the number of effective labor hours for each employee.

2. Be aware of the consequences of negotiating a schedule. If the developers have used a sensible process for creating the schedule, it is seldom worth reducing it. They are optimists, anyway, and changes to the project will take longer than they think. If you trust that developer management is making effective use of the developer’s time, leave the schedules alone.

3. Larger projects are much harder to schedule than small ones. Also, if the project lasts longer than a year, watch out! Longer projects mean more chance for technology change, requirements change, and employee turnover. All these factors increase the likelihood of schedule delays.

4. Learn project management skills. Be aware of the difficulty of scheduling software projects. Understand the need to manage requirement creep. Be willing to remove features and functions if the schedule must be kept. Always plan on delays in software projects. Do not assume that because a project is late that software management is incompetent. It may be, but it may also be that unavoidable factors intervened.

Figure 1. Testing Request Process.

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Suggested Reading Chapter 10 Presentation In order to access the resources below, you must first log into the myCSU Student Portal and access the ABI/INFORM Complete database within the CSU Online Library. Denning, S. (2011). Successfully implementing radical management at salesforce.com. Strategy &

Leadership, 39(6), 4-10. El Shazly, H. E., & Durand, D. E. (1991). User training is necessary throughout the SDLC. Journal of Systems

Management, 42(8), 6. Gulledge, T. R., Jr., & Sommer, R. A. (2002). Business process management: Public sector implications.

Business Process Management Journal, 8(4), 364.

Learning Activities (Non-Graded) Course Flashcards: http://media.pearsoncmg.com/ph/bp/bp_kroenke_umis_7/flashcards/index.html From the Textbook: Ethics Guide, Estimation Ethics, pp. 390-391 Using MIS InClass 10, Improving the Process of Making Paper Airplanes³, pp. 404-405 Security Guide, Psst. There’s Another Way, You Know…, pp. 414-415 Guide, The Real Estimation Process, pp. 416-417 Using Your Knowledge, p. 419 Case Study 10, The Cost of PRIDE? pp. 421-422 Non-graded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You do not have to submit them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information.