CCT 355: E-Business Technologies

Class 5: Next Assignments/Core questions in planning IS systems

Administrivia

• CI assignments• Next week – change management simulation• 2 weeks – guest lecture, change management

simulation due• Thinking ahead to final project – group

formation, proposal due Nov 9

Change Management

• Got password?• Groups of 3-4 (ideally people you’ll work with

in the final project…)• First step – “interview” 19 stakeholders, read

change management theory paper• Don’t go into the change management

simulation yet – do that in class next week – but you’ll be more prepared after first step

CM Assignment

• Achieve successful buy-in – will take some time (not just in class next week – plan for another meeting?)

• Group assignment – process used to succeed, how you shared tasks, analysis of presumptions that led to initial failures – so take notes on process as you go through!

• Individual assignment – personal reflection on challenges faced, lessons learned

“Big Four” Questions

• Is there a need for an IS?• Is the project feasible?• Build or buy?• In-house/outsourced?

Is there a need?

• You can pretty much integrate IS into virtually any process - but should you?

• Questions to ask include impact on value chain, benefits and drawbacks of new vs. existing system, human and capital resource requirements, etc.

• Examples of when IS might not be useful?

Feasibility

• Technical - Is what we’d like to do even possible?

• Financial - Does project have positive ROI? How measured?

• Multiple variables (many intangible) come into play (which is why many ROI estimates are off…)

Build or Buy?

• Buying/Leasing: quicker implementation, established networks of support

• Building: customizable solutions, potential competitive advantage

• Often some mix comes into play - e.g., complex ERP systems are bought but modified to context

In-House vs. Outsourced

• In-house: internal control over process, responsibilities fit within organizational structure, but can be expensive to attract and manage IS talent

• Outsourced: use of external talent as required, can be cheaper; but loss of control and responsibility - strong contracts and communication required

SDLC “Waterfall” Model

• Concept• Inception• Elaboration• Construction• Transition• Production• Retirement

In practice…

• Waterfall model common (also the basis of systems engineering) but also complex, assumes information, resource- and management- intensive

• Agile development and extreme programming - collapses design stages for rapid application development, but systems integration and scalability issues might result

Project Management Fundamentals

• Integration• Risk• Time• Cost• HR• Procurement• Quality• Scope• Communications

Notes on time management

• Gantt charts note progress on subtasks• PERT - critical path analysis to identify bottlenecks• Too many steps = confusion; too few, guarantees

that some critical subtaks will fall through the cracks• Ideal vs. actual time - often best to take best case

scenario and multiply by 2 or 3

Types on risk management

• Feature creep• Requirement overload• Cutting quality• Overly optimistic goals/schedule• “Silver bullet”• Weak personnel/training• Friction with customers

Responses to Risk

• High/low impact and probability determination• Transfer - passing the buck • Deferral - adjusting schedules to meet new realities• Reduction - reduce impact/consequences of

inevitable risk• Acceptance - tolerate and cope• Avoidance - using alternative methods to eliminate

possibility (creates new risks though…)

Good project managers…

• Have working (not necessarily expert!) knowledge of technical requirements and feasibility

• Have a reasonable sense of project scope (time and cost)

• Have communication skills with stakeholders and HR (e.g., saying “no” effectively, motivating and training employees)

• Are ethically responsible to clients and employees equally

Next weeks

• Change management simulation – be here• Two weeks – guest lecture• Three weeks – proposal due