COMM 226

Acquiring Information Systems Through Projects

Chitu OkoliAssociate Professor in Business Technology ManagementJohn Molson School of Business, Concordia University, Montréal

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IT Operations and IT Projects• IT projects: acquiring and

implementing new IT in the organization– A project consists of a temporary

endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result

• IT Operations: running and maintaining existing IT in the organization

BTM 480: Project Management

• Prerequisite: COMM 225 or 226 or 301. This course covers the theory, tools, and techniques associated with the management of projects including the use of project management software. Cases from various business contexts are used to illustrate essential steps in setting up project plans, scheduling work, monitoring progress, and exercising control to achieve desired results. The course integrates the Project Management Body of Knowledge with the Project Management Institute's certification requirements.

Some Risks Inherent in IT Projects

• Lack of experience in the team• Lack of support from top

management• Lack of participation from system

users• Unclear and uncertain project

requirements• A high level of technical

complexity, and changes in the project environments

Software Development Life Cycle

Software Development Life Cycle

Phase 1: Defining Systems

Phase 2: Requirements Analysis

• Management of scope in an IT project

• Determine and document specific features and functions of the new system

• Approve requirements• Less expensive to change system

in this phase

How can Software be Acquired?

• Four basic methods for acquiring software applications:

1. Buy it and use it as is2. Buy it and customize it (most

common)3. Rent or lease it4. Build it yourself or outsource it

• Acquiring new software is NOT the same as acquiring new information systems, because there is a lot more to think about in systems than just software

Technology Acceptance Model

http://www.istheory.yorku.ca/Technologyacceptancemodel.htm

Davis, F. D. (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Quarterly, 13(3), 319-339.

How much FUNCTIONALITY should you implement?Perceived Usefulness

1.Same functionality as old system– The new system must at least be as functional

as the old one

2.User-requested functionality– The system should add new features required

by users

3.Analyst-suggested functionality– The system may optionally go beyond users’

expectations

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How much RETRAINING effort would it take users to learn to use the new system?Perceived Ease of Use

1.Same functionality as old system– Minimal effort, or net zero effort (takes no

more effort than time and effort saved from switching from old system)

2.User-requested functionality– Users must feel that new retraining is

worthwhile considering the benefits they have asked for

3.Analyst-suggested functionality– No extra retraining should be required,

unless users are absolutely convinced of benefits of extended functionality

Phase 3: Component Design

Phase 4: Implementation

System Conversion strategies

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(b) Plunge

Phase 5: Maintenance

Problems With SDLC

• SDLC waterfall– Phases are not supposed to be repeated– Often teams have need to repeat requirements

and/or design phases• Difficulty in documenting requirements

– Analysis paralysis or uncertain requirements• Scheduling and budget difficulties

– Multiyear projects difficult to properly schedule– Estimations on labour often produce insufficient

budgets

Some Alternatives to Building Systems Yourself

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What is outsourcing and what are Application Service Providers?

• Outsourcing is the process of hiring another organization to perform a service

• The outsourced vendor can be domestic or international– Offshoring is when vendor is overseas

(e.g., China, India, and Russia)• Application service providers

(ASPs, online services) are a special form of outsourcing

Outsourcing

• An easy way to gain expertise • Concern cost reductions• To reduce development risk

Application Service Providers

• Usually Software as a Service (SaaS)

• ASP agreement– Organization contracts with a vendor

to “rent” applications from the vendor company on a fee-for-service basis

• Vendor maintains the system at its own web location and the client organization accesses the application on the vendor’s website

• Payments– Monthly or yearly– Based on number of employees or

“users”

Sources

• Most of the slides are adapted from COMM 226 Business Technology Management by David M. Kroenke, Andrew Gemino, Peter Tingling, and Earl H. McKinney, Jr. 2nd Custom Edition for Concordia University (2014) published by Pearson Canada. ISBN 13: 978-1-269-96956-7

• Other sources are noted on the slides themselves

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