Modeling Systems

Figure 9.10

Systems modeling

SQL

Management issues

-Do we need an information strategy?

-How does the information management strategy relate to IT/IS and knowledge
management strategies?
-How should we structure and resource information management
-...

Organizational strategy

-Commercial organisations >< Service organisations

-Organisational goals:
 Profit >< service
 Efficiency
 Good decision making
 Effectiveness
 Good reputation
 Good customer service

-Organisational strategy
 Defines the future directions ans actions of an organization specified as approaches
and allocation of resources to achieve specific objectives
For example, Johnson ans Scholes (2003) define organizational or corporate strategy as:
 “the direction and scope of an organization over the long-term: which achieves
advantage for the organization through its configuration of resources within a
changing environment to meet the needs ...

Strategy elements

This definition highlights these elements of strategy:

Stages in the strategy process

1)Where are we now? The situation analysis

2)Where do we want do be? The vision and objectives
3)How are we going to get there? The strategy
4)How do we introduce the changes? The implementation of the strategy
5)How are we doing? The monitoring and control of strategy

Organizational strategy

-All these elements of organizational strategy apply equally to other business strategies
such as:
  Marketing strategy
 Operations management strategy
 Information management strategy
 Knowledge management strategy
 Information systems strategy
...

The different forms of strategy

Figure 4.4

Strategy elements

-To reach the organizational goals, managers have to

Management level Types of problems Time frame Information needs
Senior management Strategic Months – years Highly summarized
Middle management Tactical Weeks – months Summarized
Operational Operational Hours – days -> Raw or slightly
management korte termijnen processed
Operational management -> mensen op de werkvloer
Middle management -> worden geen belsissingen genomen die het bedrijf op lange
termijn kunnen beïnvloeden => iets ander product introduceren of productie tijdelijk
stopzetten kan hier wel

Information management strategy

-Defines the management approaches to the organization, the control and applications of
organizational information resources through coordination of people an technology
resources in order to support ...

-Managers have to cope with the information overload. Having the 'right' information when
it is required is essential if their organization is to carry out it's business processes in an
efficient and effective way
-The aim of Information Management Strategy is to support the work of the organization by
improving the management of the information and enabling a more effective and efficient
exchange of information with external bodies

-Information management has been defined as “the means by which an organization

efficiently plans, collects, organizes, uses, controls, disseminates and disposes of its
information, and through which it ensures that the value of that information is identified and
exploited to the fullest extent”

-Organizations must treat information as a key asset in the same way as Property of
Finance
-Consequently similar issues arise:
 What do we own?
 What condition is it in?
 How can we make best use of it?
 What might be surplus?
 How do we protect it?
  What happens if it is destroyed?
 Legal requirements?

-An information management strategy includes several themes:

 Information value
 Information quality
 Information security
 Legal and ethical compliance
 Knowledge management
 Technology support
-Several approaches:
 Structuring the information management function
 Responsibilities and training
 Information resource analysis
 Risk management

IM Theme 1 Information Value

1.Strategic Information
Information is critical to business and of greatest value. This includes the
information used for corporate performance management such as objectives,,
performance metrics and business drivers. It also refers to external information such
as competitive intelligence and market information
2.High potential information
The potential value to the business may be high, but is not confirmed. Knowledge
management could fit into this category in some organizations as they assess
whether it is likely to become strategic information in future
3.Key operational information
Information is essential for core processes and its value is enhanced in ...
4.Support information
...

IM Theme 2 Information quality

-Informatie moet correct zijn

-Informatie moet relevant zijn
-Het moet informatie zijn waardoor managers beslissingen kunnen nemen
-De informatie moet volledig zijn
-De scope moet correct zijn -> je steekt alleen maar die gegevens in uw systeem die
relevant zijn
-De informatie die uit je systeem komt moet gedetailleerd zijn, je moet ze ook kunnen
verwerken
-Je moet je informatie kunnen sorteren in eender welke maat (pdf, tekstfiles, ...)

IM Theme 3 Information security

-Ten guiding principles:

 Security policy
 Security Organization
 Asset Classification and Control
 Personnel Security
 Physical and Environmental Security
  Communication and Operations Management
 Access Control
 Systems Development and Maintenance
 Business Continuity Planning
 Compliance = toestemming -> wet op de privacy

IM Theme 4 Legal and ethical compliance

-Examples of information privacy issues

 Sharing customer data with a third party without the customer's consent
 Sending out unsolicited e-mail to a consumer
 An e-mail from an employee which denigrates another organization or defames an
individual
 Monitoring employee access to data and online services
 Not providing online access suitable for those with visual impairment
 Records access – The modification, the person who modified it and time it was
made should be recorded
 Records Disposal – The information policy may need to specify how long records
are kept before they are deleted for legal compliance

IM Theme 5 Knowledge management

-Organizations a-such as management consultancy, effective knowledge management is

an important contributor to business effectiveness. In these cases, a separate knowledge
management strategy is likely to be developed. In smaller organizations, the information
management strategy may refer to ...

IM Theme 6 Technology / Systems Support

-Typical questions facing managers related to this topic (chapter 6):

 How should we align IS ...

Why is an information strategy needed?

-Organizational problems of poor data quality

 Poor customer service (can't answer questions)
 Poor decision making (relevant info unavailable)
 Difficult to win new business (B2B)
 Poor understanding of market dynamics and customer needs (B2C and B2B)
 Difficult to control through management metrics
 Information cannot be used to deliver value

Consequences of poor information management strategy

-Mini case 1 – the utility company

Problems with organizational data quality

Figure 4.1

Problemen:
-Data wordt niet goed beheerd -> dus ga je er nooit informatie uit krijgen

Onderzoek dateert van 2001

Als je je data niet goed beheerd

-Extra costs to prepare ...

Benefits of an Information Management Strategy

-It becomes possible to integrate all information activities, and to use all information quickly
and effectively to make efficient business decisions
-Promotes openness of communications throughout the company, both between and
within levels
-Will foster a culture of innovation and knowledge sharing
-Forms a sound strategy for investment in information systems and technology
-Ensures awareness of opportunities and threats is communicated throughout the
company ans allows timely responses to these

Responsibility for information-related resources

-Questions to be asked by senior managers:

 Who ensures that information management helps support organizational strategies?
 Who is responsible for providing information services that deliver external
information?
 Who produces guidelines and audits information quality?
 Who protects organizational information?
 Who provides ...

-The different perspectives on how to manage information

-> Technology-led approach >< Information-led approach

Frameworks for IM
-Guidelines from the Hawley Committee report
-Orna's information policy and information audit
-The Willard model of information resource management

=> SEE COURSE BOOK CH04 P192-197

Defining knowledge

-Data: Discrete, objective facts (numbers, symbols, figures) without context or

interpretation
-Information: Data which adds walue to the understanding of a subject and in context, is
the basis for knowledge
-> verwerkte gegevens, ruwe feiten
-Knowledge:

Knowledge Management Strategy

-Knowledge has grown as a concept since it first emerged in the 1990s

-Realization emerged that if organizations can manage the learning ...
-...

KM strategy process

-Strategie ontwikkelen door eerst te definiëren wat kennis is -> verschilt voor elk bedrijf.
-Zodra je definitie hebt, kan je een audit gaan ontwikkelen -> moet zeker een hele goede
controle audit hebben
-Wanneer je een strategie ontwikkelt hebt, kan je die gaan implementeren (zorgen dat het
in gebruik genomen wordt)
-Dan zit je met je kwaliteitsbewaking -> indien de kwaliteit niet goed is, dan moet je terug
van het begin beginnen

The Tacit / Explicit knowledge model

-Tacit knowledge = knowledge of experience (subjective)

-Explicit knowledge = rationale and sequential (objective)
-Nonaka (1995) identifies 4 different processes in which knowledge is created and
transferred:
 Tacit to tacit through a process of socialization
Ex: the marketing manager discusses and learns about the latest trends ...
 ...

Other definitions

-Knowledge in terms of function

 declarative
 ...

KM SWOT

-SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analyses:

 What areas of our business benefit from applied, valued, ...
 ...

Analysis for KM strategy

-What are the core aspects of our business?

-How is the industry we operate in changing?
-What are ...

The Knowledge Audit

-The knowledge audit is a systematic process of identifying knowledge assets and their
relationship across an organization
-It will offer a formatlized way of documenting the assessment of the current organisational
knowledge base
-...

Gap analysis
-Knowledge gap:
-...

Using Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) to enable

knowledge management

ICT options

-Intranets and extranets

-Expertise databases and Corporate yellow pages
-Collaborative Tools -> vooral wanneer men met verschillende gebruikers aan eenzelfde
document werkt
-Corporate portals
-Customer Relationship Management systems (CRM)
-Document Management / Content management Systems
-E-learning

Information Systems Strategy

The IS strategy involves setting relative investments priorities for applications, support
services and infrastructure. The infrastructure includes both hardware ans network
architecture ...

-Strategic evaluation
What is the current status of IS Strategy and implementation within the organization and
the use of information systems within the broader competitive environment?
-Strategic objectives
What specifically is an organization seeking to achieve through IS strategic development?
-Strategic definition
Which strategic approaches and analytical tools are available to help us fomulate hte IS
strategy?
-...

Elements of an effective IS strategy - a reminder

-Help support the future direction of an organization

-Achieve advantage for the organization (strategic objectives)
-Define the allocation of resources to achieve this advantage
-...

Outputs of an IS Strategy process

-Ward and Peppard (2002) identify the following as key outputs of the IS Strategy process:
 IS/IT management strategy
 ...

Scope of IS Strategy

-Timescale:
  Relatively long-term (2-5 years)
 Relatively short-term (6 months to 1 year)
-Orientation
 Top-down -> bedrijfsleiding heeft een sterke hand in het hele bedrijf
 Bottom-up
-> in de meeste bedrijven een mengeling

Options for control of IS / IT

1.Appointing IS / IT Direcor to the board

2.Other board member ultimately responsible for IS/IT (sponsor)
3.Steering committee or special working group
4.Business unit leader -> die kunnen dan een deelstrategie uitwerken die toegespitst is op
een bepaald departement

Research Insight: Does IS have a voice?

-How company directors perceive IT managers

The research suggested that company directors see IT directors as 'advisory
figures, rather than people who are qualified to make important decisions on
spending, according to recent research'
-How IT managers perceive company attitudes to IT
The survey found ...
-IT managers as board members
...

Principal Options for Ownerships of IM Strategy

Figure 4.3

De beste optie is dat er zowel een IS als een IM en een KM manger aanwezig is in een
bedrijf. Maar meestal zullen er maar 2 aanwezig zijn

Chapter 8: Change management

Simpel voorbeeld: overschakelen van Office 2003 naar Office 2007

Change management

-Approaches to managing changes to organizational processes, structures and their

impact on organizational staff and culture known as change management. Approaches to
managing chance associated with information management initiatives is the subject of this
chapter
-The high failure rates for information systems ...

Types of change

-Incremental change
Relatively small adjustments required by an organization in response to their business
environment
Vroeger: inschrijven op papier -> iemand moest dat intypen
Nu: elektronisch inschrijven (systeem is dus uitgebreid)
-Discontinuous change
Change involving a major transformation in an industry

=> How does all this affect the organization and the individuals within the organization?

-Classifying orgnizational change:

 Anticaptory change
An organization initiates change without an immediate need to respond
 Reactive change
A direct response by an organization to a change in an rganization's environment

-Organizational change
 Includes both incremental and discontinuous change to organizations

IS Strategy must acknowledge the different characteristics of an organization's internal

environment, which forms its identity and character. These are (chapter 6):
 Strategy: allocation of resources to achieve the objectives
 Structure: structural changes to business are now commonplace when adopting
new strategies or with mergers with other companies
 Systems: this applies to procedures and business processes, changes o either of
these will mplicate changes to IS
 Style: the company's culture, does not typically directly affect IS
 Staff: introducing a new IS raises the question whether the appropriate mix ...
 ...

Characteristics of organizational change

Figure 8.1

-Tuning: No immediate need for change

“Doing things better”
-Re-orientation: No immediate need; the change is in anticipation of the change
“Doing things differently”
-Adaptation: Response to external threat or opportunity
“Doing things better”
-Re-creation: A fundamental change to the way the company operates in order to compete
effectively
“Doing things differently”

Four key types of organizational change

-Tuning
This is an incremental form of change when there is no immediate need for change. It can
be categorised as “doing things better”. New procedures or policies may be used ....

Transition curve indicating the reaction of staff through time

Indien je een grote verandering doorvoert dan doorloop je deze curve

Eerst komen de meeste in een soort van shock terecht omdat ze niet begrijpen waarom
het moet veranderen. Op lange termijn, zullen de personen die moeten veranderen, het
nieuwe systeem accepteren en het vaak zelfs beter vinden dan het oude
-> Hangt af van de projectleider en de bedrijfsleiding (hoe meer uitleg, hoe sneller ze het
gaan accepteren)

Chapter 9: continued
The nature of software development

70% of software projects fail (the Standisch Group Report, 2005)

An exageration?

Factors Influencing Project Success, Challenge or Failure

-Definition: Project Success

 Business requirements satisfied on time and within budget (as amended by formal
change control)
 No deliverable defects
 Sponsors and customers satisfied
 Project team memebers satisfied
 ...

-Definition: Project Failure

 There is a broad spectrum of measures of project failure
 Sometimes “ the operation is successful – but the patient still dies”
 a project can satisfy all the traditional success criteria (requirements met on time
and within budget) while still carrying the stigma of failure because that's what
people think happened
 perception can be reality: if stakeholders, financial analysts, users, business
stakeholders, peers and superiors think a project has failed, chanches are good
that it has

-Standish Group – 1994 Chaos Report

 Research project focus ...
 Challenged -> het project is wel aanvaard maar niet iedereen is daar 100%
tevreden over
Impaired -> het project is mislukt
 De betrokkenheid van de gebruikers is een heel belangrijke factor, net zoals
ondersteuning van het management
Bv boekhouders moeten worden betrokken bij de ontwikkeling van een nieuw
systeem -> interviewen, kijken hoe ze werken, alles uitleggen over het nieuwe
systeem en hun toestemming vragen
 Wat zijn de factoren die een project doen mislukken? Gebruikers niet betrekken,
niet ondersteund door management, ...
 Wanneer wordt een project stopgezet? Doordat gebruikers niet meer
geïnteresseerd zijn, de planning klopt niet meer, ...

-Project Success Factors:

1. Executive support
2. User involvement
3. Experienced project manager
4. Clear business objectives
5. Minimized scope
6. Standard software infrastructure
 7. Firm basic requirements
8. Formal methodology
9. Reliable estimates
10. Other criteria, such as small milestones, proper planning, competent staff, and
ownership

-Success Inhibitors
 We can't stop the project for ...

The essence of software development

-Software / systems development is a product of a creative act (not a result of a repetitive

act of manufacturing)
-Software development is not amenable to “black-white”, “true-false”, “zero-one”
solutions
-Difficluties not amenable to breakthroughs of 'silver bullets'
-> software development invariants (constants):
 Complexity
 Conformity
 Changeability
 Invisiblity