IT Deployment Risks

Strategic Plans
Strategic planning serves as the primary guideline for allocating scarce resources throughout the firm and keeping the organization headed in a profitable direction.

Putting it all together

VISION STRATEGY

OBJECTIVES
POLICIES MISSION

IT Planning Process
Company Vision
Mission Objectives Strategy Policies

Overall Company

Vision
Represents what might be or an image of the future The growth and success of a business organizations are limited only by their vision of what they believe they can accomplish

Mission
Represents the guiding light for developing a set of objectives A mission statement translates the vision and articulates it in a crisp, understandable language.

Objectives
Help shape the articulation of a formal strategy

IT Objective
Serves as the foundation for setting an explicit IT strategy, which details how the IT function will achieve its objectives through its organizational structure, relationships with others and IT configurations.

Strategy
Used to develop a set of policies It should support the mission and objectives of the organization

Policies
Designed to enact the realization of the strategy

Participants in Systems Development

1) Systems Professionals
2) End Users

3) Stakeholders
4) Accountants/ Auditors

Information Systems Acquisition

In-house Developed

Commercial Systems

Types of Commercial System

Turnkey Systems General Accounting System (GAS) Special Purpose System Office Automation System Backbone System Vendor-supported System

Advantages & Disadvantages of a Commercial Software

PROs CONs

Implementation
Time Cost Reliability

Independence
Need for customized systems Maintenance

Important Policy Areas for IT Function

1) Planning 2) Organizational 3) Human Resources 4) Software 5) Hardware 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) Network Security Operations Contingency Financial and Accounting

Managing Development Projects

The overall purpose of a project is to solve a problem Each Project should be properly managed to meet time, cost and quality objectives

IT Function Scorecard
Organizational Contribution User Satisfaction

IT Function Strategy

Operational Performance

Adaptability And Scalability

Project Manager
overall responsible for the project

should have a great deal of experience in the domain area and skill at managing projects
should work with representatives from senior management, the IT staff, and affected users in planning and executing the project

First Phase
Plan the project

Involves setting the time, scope and cost parameters for the entire project Project resources are identified and project outcome is clearly articulated

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

a) b) c) d) e) Who is responsible What resources are available How the work will proceed What are the deliverables What are the constraining parameters (cost, scope, time)

Second Phase
Schedule the specific sequencing and timing of each activity and associated resources ( e.g. Gantt Charts, Critical Path Analysis)

Third Phase
Monitoring of activities As the project unfolds, one should use benchmarks, milestones and deliverables (including QA) to track progress

Fourth Phase
Controlling Development of specific actions aimed at keeping a project moving forward in the most efficient and effective manner possible, considering unexpected issues, delays and problems that arise.

Fifth Phase
Close the project PM should obtain client acceptance (in writing), release and evaluate project personnel, identify and reassign remaining project assets, consider a post-project evaluation and chronicle the history of the project

Acquiring Software
How does the software maps into the Strategic Plan of the organization? Software acquired should be in the best interest of the company

Software Acquisition Policy

1) Map upcoming application needs to the strategic plan 2) Begin formal selection process, starting with highest priority 3) Identify and compare alternative solutions 4) Consider total cost of ownership

Developing Software
First Step? ~ alignment with the strategic plan

Information Systems Development Proposal

formally documents the reasons why the project should be considered and how it maps to the strategic plan

reviewed by the Steering Committee

Feasibility Study
Technical Feasibility Financial Feasibility Cultural Feasibility

 Business Process Analysis Development and Testing

Additional System Development Issues

Development, Production, Test Library

Security and Controls Conversions and Interfaces Implementation Testing

Unit, Module, System and Stress Testing

Training and Documentation

Implementation Strategies
Parallel Implementation
o The new application is placed into production alongside the existing application and both are used to simultaneously process live data.

Implementation Strategies
Big Bang Implementation
o The organization ceases using the old system and immediately begins operating the new system

Implementation Strategies
Partial Implementation
o The system is phased in one piece at a time

Implementation Strategies
Focused Implementation
o The company identifies a relatively small group of users (defined perhaps by a single office, plant or region) to first use the new system before placing it into use throughout the organization o Can be used in conjunction with the first three strategies

Implementation Issues
Affected parties are involved
(representatives, open lines of communication)

Work breakdown structure

(timing and sequencing)

Formal change management policy

(during implementation) Training and educational programs

When is testing done?

Application acquisition Development Modification Final Testing (during implementation)
Development to Test Final Data conversion Production Library

Post- implementation