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