IT and Google Inc. at Saturday, January 30, 2010

MIS 2 - Assignment 7

I think most people would agree that Google has somehow changed the way people use the internet as a source of information. The Google Company has always been famous because of its search engine web tool where you can search for any information you want in the internet and it will return numerous relevant entries in a second or even less. The technology was so revolutionary that even the word ‘google’ is now somehow synonymous to the word ‘search’ that’s why some people would often say ‘google it’ instead of ‘search for it in the internet’.

But Google is not only famous for being the top web search engine used in the world. They also offer key products that have generated huge revenues for their company such as Google AdWords and Google AdSense which also created an impact on internet world when it comes to web advertising.

Aside from those products and services that I mentioned, among the latest innovations of Google according to THIS website are the following:

1. Google Chrome

2. Google Wave

3. Google Voice

4. Google Powermeter

5. Chromium OS Open Source Project

6. Google Public DNS

7. Google Nexus

Just like any companies, Google also has started from small beginnings. From being a simple research project, it has somehow made its way to be one of the top competitors of famous companies like Microsoft and Yahoo! Inc. Compared to its top competitors, Google has an unorthodox philosophy and culture in their company.

Philosophy of Google

• Focus on the user and all else will follow.

• It's best to do one thing, and do it well.

• Fast is better than slow.

• Democracy on the web works.

• You don't need to be at your desk to need an answer.

• You can make money without doing evil.

• There's always more information out there.

• The need for information crosses all borders.

• You can be serious without a suit.

• Great just isn't good enough.

Google’s Culture

• Heart of Small Company

• Hand’s on contribution to the Products by each employee

• Flat Hierarchy

• Each employee having several responsibilities in different departments

• Hiring Policy

– Non Discriminatory

– Preference of ability over experience

• Multilingual company environment

• Multidomestic culture

• Recreation along with work

• Common café for all employees

In order to understand how Google has come a long way and achieve this level of success, we must take a look at their business model.

According to David Pollard’s website, Figure 1 is the business model of Google.

Figure 1

Google has reached this level of success because their competitive advantage comes from its core competencies in computer hardware and software engineering which is IT. Google's great IT advantage among its competitors is its ability to build high-performance systems that are cost efficient and that scale to massive workloads. They have achieved this because of their unique philosophy and culture that their employees gladly embrace. They are focused on their mission which is making information “universally accessible and useful” while conforming their vision and ambition. According to IT consultant Stephen Arnold, Google's programmers are 50% to 100% more productive than their peers at other Web companies, a result of the custom libraries Google developed to support programming of massively parallel systems. He estimates the company's competitors have to spend four times as much to keep up.

Behind the seeming simplicity of Google is a mash-up of internally developed software, made-to-order hardware, artificial intelligence, obsession with performance, and an unorthodox approach to people management.

Reference:

http://tusharvickkie.blogspot.com/2010/01/top-10-google-inventions-of-2009.html

http://blogs.salon.com/0002007/2005/10/16.html

http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/linux/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=192300292

The Life cycle and the University at Saturday, January 02, 2010

Assignment # 5 - SAD 1
Consider your school, how do you know that the life cycle was developed specifically for the university. How do we know it meets our needs?

A “life cycle” can be defined differently in various fields of discipline but generally speaking, a life cycle is the complete process of change and development during somebody's lifetime or during the useful life of something such as an organization, institution, or manufactured product.

Since this subject is entitled Systems Analysis and Design, I will assume that the life cycle that we talk about here is the life cycle that a system undergoes while on development also known as the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC).

But before I convey my opinion whether the life cycle coincides with the university or not, I should first elaborate on the process of the development life cycle that a system undergoes.

According to teach-ict.com, here is the general system life cycle.
Based on the figure above, the following are the phases that a system should undergo during development:



The initial phase of the IS life cycle is the Feasibility study.
Generally, this is the phase where we define the problem and establish a high-level view of the intended project and determines its goals and objectives.
Specifically, we should be able to define the necessary feasibility studies such as the technical, economic, legal, operational, and schedule feasibility in order to assess the achievability of the project.

The next phase is what we call as the Requirement Analysis phase.
This is the stage where we literally analyze the requirements needed by the users for the system. Generally, this is the phase where we refine the project goals into defined functions and operation of the intended application. The gathering of data for this stage can be performed in many ways. One method is by interviewing the staff from different levels – from end users to senior management. Another method that can be used in this phase is examining the current business and systems documents and output. The documents and outputs may include current order documents, computer systems procedures and reports used by operations and senior management. Observation of current procedures can be also done as a method in generating requirements for the system because through observation, bottlenecks of the system can be detected.

After the Requirements Analysis is done, the System Design phase is next.
This is the phase where we describe the desired features and operations in detail, including screen layouts, business rules, process diagrams, and other documentation.
The details needed for this phase can include the hardware platform, software, outputs, user interface, modular design, test plan, conversion plan or the documentation.

Next is the Programming phase. This is where the actual system code is written.

After the Programming phase is done, we now proceed to the Integration and Testing:
This is the stage where we bring the various modules together into a testing environment to check for functionality, errors, bugs, and interoperability.


After Integration and testing, we now proceed to the Implementation phase. This is where the software is put into production and executes actual business processes. The actual installation of the hardware and software; training of personnel; and conversion of master files to new system are some of the processes done in this phase.


When the initial system development is done, Maintenance is next. This is where changes, correction, additions are done if there are still errors undetected during the whole process of development.

How do you know that the life cycle was developed specifically for the university?

If you would ask me if the life cycle that I showed above is specifically for the university, I can say that it is. Why? Because every system developed for the university should generally undergo feasibility study; requirements analysis; system design; programming; integration and testing; implementation and maintenance and then back to feasibility study if ever a new problem in the system comes up.

Does the general SDLC meet our needs for the university?

Yes. Why do I say so?
It is because every system in the university should undergo the phases that I mentioned one way or another. Every system should undergo those phases at some point in time during development in order to proceed with the proper and organize way and to avoid project failure.
The type of system development model can be different among developers but all the phases that I mentioned are inherent in all models. Those phases may overlap or maybe repeated on some models but what’s important is that those phases exist and should be properly performed to ensure success.


References:
information_systems_lifecycle.ppt
www.teach-ict.com/as_a2/topics/system_life_cycle/information_systems_lifecycle.ppt

Process Models at Tuesday, December 29, 2009

SAD 1 - Assignment # 4
Identify and discuss at least 3 systems development models .. discuss each phases ...

In any kind of system development, it is desirable to have guidelines in order to represent the flow of the system that a developer is working on. Most of developers use process models in order to represent their ideas for better understanding of the process flow of development.

But what is a process model?

According to Ferguson (1997), a process model is a generic description of a class of software processes. The model is independent of a particular project, but it may be customized, or instantiated, to produce a particular software process according to the needs of a particular project. The software process is only a means to an end, the process only enables an explicit way in which the process is engineered. It is dynamic, hence difficult to implement.

Based on the definitions above, I can deduce that a process model is a figure representation that depicts or describes a certain process.

In the world of process modelling, there are different approaches that are used by developers in order to represent a certain process.

Spiral Model

The spiral model, also known as the spiral lifecycle model, is a systems development method (SDM) used in information technology (IT). This model of development combines the features of the prototyping model and the waterfall model. The spiral model is intended for large, expensive, and complicated projects.
In the spiral model, the development process takes the form of an iterative process. Each cycle includes the following activities (see graphic).

• Define objectives, alternatives, and general conditions

This is the phase of the spiral model wherein we determine the objectives, alternatives and constraints.
Objectives: functionality, performance, hardware/software interface, critical success factors, etc.
Alternatives: build, reuse, buy, sub-contract, etc.
Constraints: cost, schedule, interface, etc.

• Evaluate the alternatives, identify and minimize risks

-Study alternatives relative to objectives and constraints
-Identify risks (lack of experience, new technology, tight schedules, poor process, etc.
-Resolve risks (evaluate if money could be lost by continuing system development

• Implement and review the intermediate product

This is the phase wherein we develop the next-level product
The typical activities in this phase are as follows:
– Create a design
– Review design
– Develop code
– Inspect code
– Test product

• Plan the next steps of the project

The typical activities in this phase are as follows:
o Develop project plan
o Develop configuration management plan
o Develop a test plan
o Develop an installation plan


The Spiral Model has its strengths as a process model and these are as follows:

• Provides early indication of insurmountable risks, without much cost
• Users see the system early because of rapid prototyping tools
• Critical high-risk functions are developed first
• The design does not have to be perfect
• Users can be closely tied to all lifecycle steps
• Early and frequent feedback from users
• Cumulative costs assessed frequently

If the Spiral Model has its strengths, it also has weakness as a process model. These are as follows:

• Time spent for evaluating risks too large for small or low-risk projects
• Time spent planning, resetting objectives, doing risk analysis and prototyping may be excessive
• The model is complex
• Risk assessment expertise is required
• Spiral may continue indefinitely
• Developers must be reassigned during non-development phase activities
• May be hard to define objective, verifiable milestones that indicate readiness to proceed through the next iteration

So when is the best time to use Spiral Model?

• When creation of a prototype is appropriate
• When costs and risk evaluation is important
• For medium to high-risk projects
• Long-term project commitment unwise because of potential changes to economic priorities
• Users are unsure of their needs
• Requirements are complex
• New product line
• Significant changes are expected (research and exploration)



RAD Model


RAD is a linear sequential software development process model that emphasis an extremely short development cycle using a component based construction approach. If the requirements are well understood and defines, and the project scope is constraint, the RAD process enables a development team to create a fully functional system with in very short time period.
What is RAD?

RAD (rapid application development) is a concept that products can be developed faster and of higher quality through:

• Gathering requirements using workshops or focus groups
• Prototyping and early, reiterative user testing of designs
• The re-use of software components
• A rigidly paced schedule that defers design improvements to the next product version
• Less formality in reviews and other team communication

RAD model has the following phases:

1. Business Modeling:

The information flow among business functions is defined by answering questions like what information drives the business process, what information is generated, who generates it, where does the information go, who process it and so on.

2. Data Modeling:

The information collected from business modeling is refined into a set of data objects (entities) that are needed to support the business. The attributes (character of each entity) are identified and the relation between these data objects (entities) is defined.

3. Process Modeling:

The data object defined in the data modeling phase are transformed to achieve the information flow necessary to implement a business function. Processing descriptions are created for adding, modifying, deleting or retrieving a data object.

4. Application Generation:

Automated tools are used to facilitate construction of the software; even they use the 4th GL techniques.

5. Testing and Turn over:

Many of the programming components have already been tested since RAD emphasis reuse. This reduces overall testing time. But new components must be tested and all interfaces must be fully exercised.

The benefits of RAD are:

• It is useful for projects in which user requirements are uncertain or imprecise

• It encourages active user and management participation. This increases end-user enthusiasm for the project

• Projects have higher visibility and support because of the extensive user involvement throughout the process

• Users and management see working, software-based solutions more rapidly than in Model-Driven Development

• Errors and omissions tend to be detected earlier in prototypes than in system models

• Testing and Training is a natural by-product of the underlying prototyping approach

• The iterative approach is more “natural” fit because change is an expected factor during development

• It reduces risk because you test the technical solution iteratively instead of making a wholesale commitment to any solution
Rapid Application Development main disadvantages are that some believe that it encourages the “code, implement and repair” mentality and practices. It may increase the overall lifetime costs in operation, support and maintenance. Due to the decrease in time for testing prototypes, the solution can easily resolve the wrong problem or create multiple new problems. If quality is your main issue, RAD is not your choice.

Waterfall Model


This method is a good basic model for most application development and is the oldest of the models. The waterfall method assumes, however, that the only role for user is in specifying requirements, and that all requirements can be specified in advance.

Unfortunately, requirements grow and change throughout the process and beyond, calling for considerable feedback and iterative consultation. Consequently, many other SDLC models have been developed.

This model is a sequence of stages in which the output of each stage becomes the input for the next. These stages can be characterized and divided up in different ways, including the following:

1) System/Information Engineering and Modeling

As software development is large process so work begins by establishing requirements for all system elements and then allocating some subset of these requirements to software. The view of this system is necessary when software must interface with other elements such as hardware, people and other resources. System is the very essential requirement for the existence of software in any entity. In some cases for maximum output, the system should be re-engineered and spruced up. Once the ideal system is designed according to requirement, the development team studies the software requirement for the system.

2) Software Requirement Analysis

Software Requirement Analysis is also known as feasibility study. In this requirement analysis phase, the development team visits the customer and studies their system requirement. They examine the need for possible software automation in the given software system. After feasibility study, the development team provides a document that holds the different specific recommendations for the candidate system. It also consists of personnel assignments, costs of the system, project schedule and target dates.

The requirements analysis and information gathering process is intensified and focused specially on software. To understand what type of the programs to be built, the system analyst must study the information domain for the software as well as understand required function, behavior, performance and interfacing. The main purpose of requirement analysis phase is to find the need and to define the problem that needs to be solved.

3) System Analysis and Design

In System Analysis and Design phase, the whole software development process, the overall software structure and its outlay are defined. In case of the client/server processing technology, the number of tiers required for the package architecture, the database design, the data structure design etc are all defined in this phase. After designing part a software development model is created. Analysis and Design are very important in the whole development cycle process. Any fault in the design phase could be very expensive to solve in the software development process. In this phase, the logical system of the product is developed.

4) Code Generation

In Code Generation phase, the design must be decoded into a machine-readable form. If the design of software product is done in a detailed manner, code generation can be achieved without much complication. For generation of code, Programming tools like Compilers, Interpreters, and Debuggers are used. For coding purpose different high level programming languages like C, C++, Pascal and Java are used. The right programming language is chosen according to the type of application.

5) Testing

After code generation phase the software program testing begins. Different testing methods are available to detect the bugs that were committed during the previous phases. A number of testing tools and methods are already available for testing purpose.

6) Maintenance

Software will definitely go through change once when it is delivered to the customer. There are large numbers of reasons for the change. Change could happen due to some unpredicted input values into the system. In addition to this the changes in the system directly have an effect on the software operations. The software should be implemented to accommodate changes that could be happen during the post development period.

Reference:

Ferguson, P.(1997, May)."Results of Applying the Personal Software Process," IEEE Computer,

Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) By Yogi Berra Powerpoint presentation

http://www.efunda.com/processes/rapid_prototyping/intro.cfm

http://www.garywwright.com/sdlc.php

Critical Success Factor Steps at Tuesday, December 29, 2009

MIS 2 - Assignment # 6
Identify and discuss the steps for "critical success factors" approach?

Any organization inherently possesses a mission which states why it exists and a vision which states where it is headed. In order to achieve the mission of an organization, all of the members of that particular organization should participate and contribute for the achievement of the goals and objectives of the organization as a whole. As our professor once said, every member should embrace the “one and only game plan” of the organization or else the organization will find it hard if not impossible to succeed. In addition, the organization must consistently concentrate on the key areas to achieve the mission. These key areas can be different from each organization depending on the type of organization and the type of industry that they are in. These key areas are what we call as the organization’s critical success factors.

Based on his study regarding CSFs, Rockhart provides a useful summary of similar but distinct definitions:

• key areas of activity in which favorable results are absolutely necessary to reach goals
• key areas where things must go right for the business to flourish
• “factors” that are “critical” to the “success” of the organization
• key areas of activities that should receive constant and careful attention from management
• a relatively small number of truly important matters on which a manager should focus attention


Based on the definitions stated above, I can comprehend that the CSF approach is a method used in order to identify the important elements or the “key areas” for the organization to achieve its mission.

According to Dr. John T. Drea, a professor of Marketing in Western Illinois University, here are the steps of the Critical Success Factors methods:

Step 1: Identify the relevant attributes for assessing industry attractiveness.

This is where the attributes that are relevant or necessary for the assessment of the industry where the organization belongs to is performed.
Some of the examples of relevant attributes that an organization can identify are: market size, profit margin, growth, vulnerability to business cycles and threats from new competitors/substitute products. In general, these are the factors which would determine the relative attractiveness of one industry compared to others.

Step 2: Assign weights for the importance of each attribute.

An example of this is the following (All weights should total to 1):

.20 Market size
.30 Profit margin
.20 Growth
.15 Vulnerability to business cycle
.15 Threats from new competitors/substitute products

These are the weights you would assign to each of the factors to determine the attractiveness of one industry compared to others.
Basically, this is the phase where you would weigh the level of importance of each attribute identified in step 1.


Step 3: Assign a rating (1-5) for each industry attribute, indicating the performance of the industry on the attribute (compared to others)

Step 4: Multiply the weight times the rating to get an overall industry value.

The step 3 and 4 covers the computation of the overall rating of each attribute of the organization in the industry.

Drea illustrated the step 3 and 4 with this figure as an example.




Step 5: Next, using the same factors and weights, evaluate the competitors along using a 1-5 scale

Step 6: Multiply the weight times the business attribute rating for each competitor.

Competitors in the same industry will be in a vertical line, but you can change weights to reflect different segments of an overall market.

The step 5 and 6 covers the computation of the attribute rating of each competitor in order to compare it with the organization being assessed. This comparison will enable the people concerned to evaluate the position of the organization based on the competitors in their corresponding industry.

To illustrate, here is an example:



Step 7: Plot the resulting point on a 2D grid

Step number 7 will provide a visual representation of the assessment of the critical factors of the organization for better understanding and comprehension.

Here is an example:



You can plot different competitors in different Industries on the same grid.

References:

Rockhart, John F. & Bullen, Christine V. A Primer on Critical Success Factors.
Cambridge, MA: Center for Information Systems Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1981.

Caralli, Richard A. (2004, July).The Critical Success Factor Method: Establishing a Foundation for Enterprise Security Management. Date Retrieved:

Drea, John T. Competitive Intelligence: Ideas for Analysis.Western Illinois University. Date Retrieved: December 27, 2009. Retrieved from:

Systems Analyst as Project Managers at Thursday, December 24, 2009

In the world of systems analysis, a system analyst can have a wide range of roles and responsibilities that he or she is going to have when developing any kind of system. One of the roles that a system analyst may play is being a project manager. In general, a project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. From that definition alone I can say that developing a system is also considered developing a project.

If you would ask me what’s its like to be a project manager, frankly I can’t tell you. It is because I’m not one yet as of now. I’m just a plain old student who’s ambition is to be a project manager in the near future. However, although I may not have the benefit of experience to explain what are the things that project managers do and their roles, I can share to you some of the things that I searched and the learnings that were shared to me by the MIS supervisor of Samulco regarding being a systems analyst and being a project manager.

During our interview with the MIS supervisor of Samulco, he told us that if you are a systems analyst of a company, usually you will handle a team to develop a system.
The systems analyst systematically assesses how users interact with technology and businesses function by examining the inputting and processing of data and the out- putting of information with the intent of improving organizational processes.He added that the systems analyst is responsible for the assessment and concept planning of the system however they will not do the specific tasks such as programming of the system. They will have a team to do it for them.

According to THIS website,

Quote:

“ ..This does not mean that the project manager must do all this work themselves. There may be an entire team of people helping to create the Project Charter and schedule. However, if something does not go right, the project manager is accountable. ”

From the context of handling a team to finish a project and the accountability, I can safely say that a systems analyst also act as project manager in developing a system.

But before I discuss the roles of a project manager, I should first define what is project management. Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements.

According to Carr (2007), the project manager leads the team and helps negotiate the multiple relationships within any project—whether with clients, team members, firm principals or any variety of partners (such as freelancers, contractors or even civic committees)—and functions as the hub of a project.
If a systems analyst can also assume the role of being a project manager in developing a system, what are the specific roles and responsibilities of the project manager that a systems analyst should assume?

According to Bista(2006), project managers must satisfy these sets of needs as a role:

Task Needs + Team Needs + Individual Needs

As a project manager he/she should be able to meet the "Task Needs" as follows;

1. Attaining team objectives
2. Planning work
3. Allocating resources
4. Defining tasks
5. Assigning responsibility
6. Controlling and monitoring quality
7. Scrutinizing progress
8. Checking performance

Since a project manager will be handling a team to finish a project, then he/she must also meet the “Team Needs” as follows:

1. Appointing secondary leaders
2. Building and upholding team spirit
3. Setting standards and maintaining regulation
4. Training the team
5. Setting up systems to facilitate communication with the team
6. Developing work methods to craft team function cohesiveness

The project manager role; he/she should also meet his "Individual Needs" as follows:

1. Developing the individual
2. Balancing team needs and task needs
3. Balancing team needs and individual needs
4. Performance appreciation and rewards
5. Helping with other team members personal problems

According to Carr(2007), different firms will require different types of project managers, but some skills are inherent. These are:

• Have a sense of ownership/leadership. When it comes down to it, the project manager is the person most responsible for the project’s success or failure. It can be a weighty burden to shoulder, but it is important for this sense of ownership to occur in order for the project to have direction. With multi-faceted, compartmentalized teams and/or skill sets, the project manager needs to be the one person to bring everything together and take responsibility for the work’s success. This also requires tenacity, determination and confidence—all essential traits in a project manager.

• Work collaboratively. Because the project manager needs to bring together complex, often multidisciplinary teams, he or she needs to be able to facilitate a collaborative work environment. Project managers are responsible for fusing the work skills and styles of individuals into a team focused on project tasks and goals, rather than their individual role in the project’s success.

• Use both sides of the brain. Because the project manager needs to balance the details and the big picture, he or she needs to have creative problem-solving skills as well as a head for numbers and schedules. The best project managers usually have hands-on creative experience—either as writers or designers—and understand how to work through project challenges based on past experiences. When faced with difficulties, the project manager needs to guide the team to make adjustments or changes with all of the pieces in perspective. Be creative, analytical and tactical.

• Have writing and design skills (and a technical understanding). The project manager does not need to be an award-winning writer or designer, nor does one need to be a programmer, signage fabricator or printing press operator. But he or she needs to have a strong understanding of all of the roles in the process, particularly those most related to the skills of the core team. And it helps to have direct experience in these areas, even if it is minimal. If the project manager does not have a strong design sensibility or is unable to communicate, he or she will not be able to judge the success of the project in meeting its objectives.

• Be able to facilitate. Facilitation is an entire discipline in itself, but project managers should have some training in this area. Skills developed in facilitation include leading meetings, negotiating conflicts, building teams and group dynamics, and enabling creative thought processes—all of which are necessary for a strong project manager and team leader. And a strong team leader and facilitator can also train other project team members in this discipline, increasing opportunities for leadership throughout your firm.


The MIS supervisor that we interviewed said that as a systems analyst - you have to be a little bit of everybody in you team. As an example, he said that you have to be 10% programmer, 10% documentation; 10% quality assurance..etc.. He added that as a systems analyst, you need to have at least the basic knowledge in the field of expertise of your team members in order for you to assess their needs and anticipate the problems they might encounter in their accomplishing their specific tasks. He also added that you don’t need to be an excellent programmer to be a good systems analyst but it’s a plus.


If a systems analyst act as a project manager in developing a project the he/she is the one responsible for the overall success of a project. He/she is the person ‘responsible’ and ‘accountable’ from the inception up to the completion of a project. They can be called Project coordinators or Team leaders in a company but all of them have one thing in common. They handle a team of people and follow systematic and documented phases in order to complete a project successfully.

Evidence of Interview:

References:

Bista, B. (2006, October 15). Project Manager: Roles and Skills. Date: Retrieved December 24, 2009, from http://ezinearticles.com/?Project-­Manager:-­Roles-­and-­Skills&id=329085

Carr, E. (2007) .Why a project manager?. Date Retrieved: December 24, 2009. Retrieved from: http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/why-a-project-manager

http://www.lifecyclestep.com/open/407.1TheRoleoftheProjectManager.htm

http://www.prenhall.com/behindthebook/0132240858/pdf/Kendall_Feature1_Why_We_Wrote_This_Book.pdf

PMI, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge
(PMBOK® Guide) (2004), p. 5.

Paradigm Shift as the Most Radical Structural Change at Tuesday, December 22, 2009

MIS 2 - Assignment # 5

In the spectrum of organizational change, which is the most radical type of change: automation, rationalization of procedures, business reengineering, or paradigm shifts?

During one of our discussions in the MIS subject, I have learned that formulating a strategic plan on a regular basis is still necessary for any organization even though their current strategic plan is already effective. Why is that so? Because there is a big possibility that a few years from now, their strategic plan will be not as effective as it is today. We have to remember that we are in a fast-changing environment and what happens tomorrow can be very different from today. From that context alone, changes in an organization can be considered inevitable. Even the slightest changes can make a huge difference for the organization. Therefore, the type of radical change for the organization should be properly weighed according to the level of risk as well as the return of investment for the organization.

But what is an organizational change?

Organizational change is any action or set of actions resulting in a shift in direction or process that affects the way an organization works. Change can be deliberate and planned by leaders within the organization (i.e., shift from inpatient hospital focus to outpatient primary care model), or change can originate outside the organization (i.e., budget cut by Congress) and be beyond its control. Change may affect the strategies an organization uses to carry out its mission, the processes for implementing those strategies, the tasks and functions performed by the people in the organization, and the relationships between those people. Naturally, some changes are relatively small, while others are sweeping in scope, amounting to an organizational transformation. Change is a fact of organizational life, just as it is in human life (Flowers Bloom: organizational change -most radical type of change, 2009).

The organizational change can be brought about by the fast changing environment or acts as a strategic move in order to adapt in the current situation or get ahead with the competition. Either way, the organizational change that can occur in an organization can be defined into four kinds of structural organizational changes that is brought about by information technology. These are: automation, rationalization of procedures, business reengineering, or paradigm shifts.

Figure 1

The first one is Automation.

In plain definition, automation is a system of manufacture designed to extend the capacity of machines to perform certain tasks formerly done by humans, and to control sequences of operations without human intervention. The term automation has also been used to describe non-manufacturing systems in which programmed or automatic devices can operate independently or nearly independently of human control. In the fields of communications, aviation, and astronautics, for example, such devices as automatic telephone switching equipment, automatic pilots, and automated guidance and control systems are used to perform various operations much faster or better than could be accomplished by humans (Besel, 2008).

In a correlation to being a radical change in an organization, automation is the type of change that uses technology to the tasks in an organization more efficiently and effectively. Basically the goal of automation is the increased efficiency of the operations in an organization. Calculating paychecks and payroll registers, giving bank tellers instant access to customers deposit records this are all examples of automation.

Based on Figure 1, we can already deduce that compared to the other three types of structural changes, automation have the lowest risk but also the lowest return of investment or reward for an organization. It just means that among the four types of structural changes that can occur in an organization, automation is the least radical change because of the low risk as well as the low reward that an organization can get. If you compare it with the three, automation has the least impact for an organization.

During automation, new bottlenecks in production are frequently revealed and make the existing arrangement of procedures and structures painfully cumbersome (Solo,2009). This is where a deeper form of structural change called the Rationalization of Procedures can be adapted.

Basically, the rationalization of procedures is streamlining of procedures and eliminating obvious bottlenecks that are revealed by automation for enhanced efficiency of operations (Malhorta, 2000).

Compared to automation, the rationalization of procedures provides higher risks but at the same time higher chance of return of investment for the organization.

A more powerful type of organizational change is what we call as Business Process Reengineering.

In plain definition, business process reengineering is the reorganization of way business is run. It is a management approach that examines aspects of a business and their interaction and attempts to improve the efficiency of the underlying processes (“Business process reengineering”, 2008).

It is in business process reengineering in which business processes are analyzed, simplified and redesigned. Using information technology, organizations can rethink and streamline their business processes to improve speed, service and quality. Business reengineering reorganizes work flows, combining steps to cut waste and eliminating repetitive, paper intensive tasks. Its usually much more ambitious thank rationalization of procedures, requiring a new vision of how the process is to be organized (Solo,2009).

Reengineering is the radical redesign of business processes that depends upon information technology intensive radical redesign of workflows and work processes (Malhorta, 2000).

Compared to automation and rationalization of procedures, business process reengineering change conquers higher risk however it also covers the possibility of higher rewards for the organization.

Rationalizing procedures and redesigning business processes are limited to specific parts of a business. New information systems can ultimately affect the design of the entire organization by transforming how the organization carries out its business or even the nature of the business (Solo,2009).

A more radical form of business change is called Paradigm Shift. Paradigm shift involves rethinking the nature of the business and the nature of the organization. In many instances firms seeking paradigm shift and pursuing reengineering strategies achieve stunning, order or magnitude increases in their returns on investment (Solo,2009).

Figure 2

Based on Figure 2, from the term “re-everything”,I can deduce that a paradigm shift is the overall change of the organization. I consider it as the most extreme type change that an organization would do. It is like the combination of all the changes made by the first three types of structural changes. This type of change is considered to be the hugest gamble that an organization might decide to do. Why? Because based on Figure 1, it has the highest possible risk as well as the highest possible return of investment in a company.

From figure 1 alone, we can already observe that the paradigm shift covers highest risks compared to other types of change. However, it also covers higher rewards for the organization. I can deduce that based on the degree of risk and reward that a paradigm shift in an organization can give, therefore a paradigm shift can be considered the most radical change that an organization can adapt compared to automation, rationalization of procedures and business re-engineering.

Some business model innovations like Barnes and Noble and Toys R Us represent ‘paradigm shifts’ that characterize not transformation at the level of business processes and process workflows, but radical rethinking of the business as well as the dividing lines between organizations and industries (Malhorta, 2000).

Such rethinking of the nature of the business and the nature of the organization itself characterizes paradigm shifts as the hallmark of business model innovation (Malhorta, 2000).

References:

Besel, Michael N. "Automation." Microsoft® Student 2008 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft
Corporation, 2007.

Business process reengineering. (2008). Microsoft Student 2008 [DVD]. Redmond, WA:
Microsoft Corporation.
Flowers Bloom: organizational change (most radical type of change). (2009). Date Retrieved:
December 22, 2009 Retrieved from: http://marketing-automation-software.net/

Malhorta, Y., (2000) .Knowledge Management & New Organization Forms: A Framework for
Business Model Innovation. Date Retrieved: December 22, 2009. Retrieved from: http://www.brint.org/KMNewOrg.pdf
Solo, A.O. Management Information System. Atlantic International University. Date retrieved:
December 22, 2009 Retrieved from: http://aiu.edu/applications/DocumentLibraryManager/upload/Management%20Information%20Systems.pdf

Expedite Information System Plan at Wednesday, December 16, 2009

MIS 2 - Assignment # 4

You were invited by the university president to prepare an IS plan for the university, discuss what are the steps in order to expedite the implementation of the IS Plan.

The first time I saw the minimum words required for this assignment, I was stunned. I can barely make 3000 words and now I have to make 5000 words?
But during contemplation, I realized that this is maybe because our professor would like us to be detailed enough on relaying our ideas to help expedite the implementation of the IS Plan for the university. If this is one way for me to return the favor to the university that honed me, then I would gladly help. Anything to help the university. hehe

This kind of activity is actually part of my 6th step which is to inform and involve the students for us to be aware and potentially help out for the implementation of the IS Plan. After all, the people that would majorly benefit from the success of the implementation of the IS Plan would be us - the students. Right?

In making this assignment, I tried my best to deliver the steps on how to expedite the IS plan of the university according to my own perspective. I based it from the learnings from previous discussions and also from the insights given to me by the IT people that I interviewed.

In order to expedite the implementation of the Information System Plan for the university, here are the steps that I thought that should be taken:

1. Expedite the gathering of the necessary baseline information

This is the part where we gather the necessary data and evidences to support the IS plan. This will also serve as the basis on what problems should be solved and what are the requirements needed for the expected output of the plan. The cooperation of the different offices in the university is also crucial because they have some of the necessary documents to support the ISP. If the needed documents are properly provided, then it would hasten the process of assessment needed in making the IS plan.

2. Sharpen up the IS action plan

Based on our previous discussions, we already know that planning is very important in developing any kind of system. The Information System Plan is very crucial for implementation because this will serve as guide for the whole implementation process. The ISP will answer the following questions such as:

How much is going where?
Who is doing what?
And when is it going to happen?

Those are the critical questions that need to be answered and supported with proper documentations and evidences provided by the first step which is the gathering of the necessary baseline information. According to Michael Gorman, no information system plan is perfect the first time it is made. There can be loop holes that are missed that can be very troublesome if not addressed.

According also to Michael Gorman, there are certain characteristics of an information systems plan that are desirable to produce in order to achieve optimal performance. These are the following: Timely, Usable, Maintainable, Quality, and Reproducible. He added that the ISP must be timely. An ISP that is created long after it is needed is useless. In almost all cases, it makes no sense to take longer to plan work than to perform the work planned. The ISP must be useable. It must be so for all the projects as well as for each project. The ISP should exist in sections that once adopted can be parceled out to project managers and immediately started. The ISP must be maintainable. New business opportunities, new computers, business mergers, etc. all affect the ISP. The ISP must support quick changes to the estimates, technologies employed, and possibly even to the fundamental project sequences. While the ISP must be a quality product, no ISP is ever perfect on the first try. As the ISP is executed, the metrics employed to derive the individual project estimates become refined as a consequence of new hardware technologies, code generators, techniques, or faster working staff. The ISP must be reproducible. That is, when its development activities are performed by any other staff, the ISP produced should essentially be the same.
Technical and information architecture, technology standards, and organizational vision are critical to long-term success and stability of information systems. Therefore, they should be well defined and supported in the IS plan itself.


3. Secure administration commitment

Once the Information System Plan has been polished, then it is time to present it to the top level administration of the university. One of difficulties in information system planning is getting the top management to understand the strategic role of information systems. This could be a challenge because the admin will look at it differently compared to the primary clients on the lower level. Without the approval of the top-level management, the proposed plan will be in vain. If the top-level management will not see the significance of the ISP, then it would be impossible to get the implementation started.

4. Secure financial sources

According to one of the systems analyst that I interviewed, he mentioned that in any information system plan or development of a system - budget is everything. He added that without the necessary budget, there can be no action that can be done to support any plan or development. The budget serves as the fuel that keeps the development going. However, if there is a budget but is insufficient then there is a big possibility of a snail-paced of the planning as well as the actual implementation or worse failure of the project. Financial resources can be obtained from the university fund itself, government agencies, NGOs and other funding institutions. I know that financial support can be difficult to secure but as long as there is commitment and cooperation with the university members – anything is possible.


5. Secure institutional commitment: Faculty and Staff Engagement

Once there is top level commitment with the proposed IS plan, the institutional commitment should be also secured. The key person in charge for the implementation of the Information System Plan would be the faculty and staff so it is also important to secure their commitment. Without their commitment, then the IS Plan will not be properly implemented and therefore will result to failure. During one of our discussions in the subject MIS, we learned that it is important for all the members of an organization to ‘embrace’ the game plan. If there is one member not committed, it would affect the whole plan negatively.

6. Involve and inform the students

It is also important to involve and inform the students to make them appreciate the whole process of the IS plan and the implementation itself. The students can be involved by relaying suggestions concerning the improvement of our Information System through their student leaders or through discussion forums. Students can provide inputs or insights that are overlooked by the IS planners. Their ideas can potentially contribute to the improvement of IS plan of the university.

In conclusion, the main keyword to expedite the IS plan for the university is COMMITMENT. If everyone is committed to change the existing condition of our university for the better then it shall be done. Anything is possible as long as there is determination, proper planning and proper action to change.