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.
What is Information System Plan?
Planning for information systems, as for any other system, begins with the identification of
needs. In order to be effective, development of any type of computer-based system should be a
response to need--whether at the transaction processing level or at the more complex information and
support systems levels. Such planning for information systems is much like strategic planning in
management. Objectives, priorities, and authorization for information systems projects need to be
formalized. The systems development plan should identify specific projects slated for the future,
priorities for each project and for resources, general procedures, and constraints for each application
area. The plan must be specific enough to enable understanding of each application and to know
where it stands in the order of development. Also the plan should be flexible so that priorities can be
adjusted if necessary. King (King, 1995) in his recent article has argued that a strategic capability
architecture - a flexible and continuously improving infrastructure of organizational capabilities - is
the primary basis for a company's sustainable competitive advantage. He has emphasized the need
for continuously updating and improving the strategic capabilities architecture.
SISP is the analysis of a corporation’s information and processes using business information
models together with the evaluation of risk, current needs and requirements. The result is an action
plan showing the desired course of events necessary to align information use and needs with the
strategic direction of the company (Battaglia, 1991). The same article emphasizes the need to note
that SISP is a management function and not a technical one. This is consistent with the earlier
distinction between the older data processing views and the modern strategic importance view of
Information Systems. SISP thus is used to identify the best targets for purchasing and installing
new management information systems and help an organization maximize the return on its
information technology investment. A portfolio of computer-based applications is identified that will
assist an organization in executing its business plans and realize its business goals. There is a
growing realization that the application of information technology (IT) to a firm’s strategic activities
has been one of the most common and effective ways to improve business performance.
Characteristics of a Quality ISP
A
quality ISP must exhibit five distinct characteristics before it is
useful. These five are presented in the table that follows.
Description
Timely
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.
Useable
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.
Maintainable
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. Once these changes are accomplished,
the new ISP should be just a few computer program executions away.
Quality
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. As these changes occur, their effects should be installable into
the data that supports ISP computation. In short, the ISP is a living
document. It should be updated with every technology event, and
certainly no less often than quarterly.
Reproducible
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. The ISP should not significantly vary by staff assigned.
Whenever a proposal for the development of an ISP is created it must be assessed
against these five characteristics. If any fail or not addressed in an optimum way, the entire set of funds for the development of an ISP is risked.
Expedite IS plan implementation
Project management:
In this step, it refers to considerations such as where would the project/system suitable to be
implemented
or placed in, budget on executing and maintaining it, who are going to
manage it and are they suitable to handle implementation of the project?
Such
inquiries are supposed to be answered even before it was approved and
even before the project completion. The answers are going to make
implementation faster since all grounds are seemed to be covered
already like personnel to be hired, placement of system/project and its
needed support and back-up.
Time management:
refers to a range of skills, tools, and techniques used to manage time when accomplishing specific tasks, projects and goals. This set encompasses a wide scope of activities, and these include planning, allocating, setting goals, delegation, analysis of time spent, monitoring, organizing, scheduling, and prioritizing.
Initially time management referred to just business or work activities,
but eventually the term broadened to include personal activities also.
A time management system is a designed combination of processes, tools
and techniques.
Risk management:
can therefore be considered the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks
followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to
minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of
unfortunate events[1]
or to maximize the realization of opportunities. Risks can come from
uncertainty in financial markets, project failures, legal liabilities,
credit risk, accidents, natural causes and disasters as well as
deliberate attacks from an adversary. Several risk management standards
have been developed including the Project Management Institute, the National Institute of Science and Technology, actuarial societies, and ISO standards.[2][3]
Methods, definitions and goals vary widely according to whether the
risk management method is in the context of project management,
security, engineering, industrial processes, financial portfolios,
actuarial assessments, or public health and safety.
The strategies to manage risk include transferring the risk to
another party, avoiding the risk, reducing the negative effect of the
risk, and accepting some or all of the consequences of a particular
risk.
Data Conversion:
In
this step, questions such as is there data needed to be put into
practical terms or layman terms than the technical terms the
development team used. Data or the information on how to use the
project should be stated in a clear and understandable manner, it must
be remembered that the user of the system might not understand the
professional jargon used.
Training of personnel:
User of the project are not IT professionals that is why time and training
has to done to guide them in how to use and manipulate the project. If
the person is knowledgeable or has received appropriate training then
implementation if IS plan will be done faster.
reference:
http://www.tdan.com/view-articles/5262
http://www.clarionmag.com/cmag/v3/informationsystemsplanning.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_management
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_management
