Information Systems for Large-Scale Event Managementatreyi/papers/large-event.pdf · INFORMATION...
45
1 INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR LARGE‐SCALE EVENT MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY Forthcoming Pacific Asia Journal of the Association for Information Systems Boon‐Yuen Ng PhD, National University of Singapore [email protected] Atreyi Kankanhalli Department of Information Systems National University of Singapore [email protected] ABSTRACT Information systems (IS) have considerable use in supporting large‐scale communication and coordination. This is especially important in contexts such as major event and crisis management which have complex requirements on people and technology. IS facilitate the dissemination of real‐time information and coordination among decision makers, and thereby the management of the entire event. This paper describes a case of management and deployment of IS for a large‐scale event as an exemplar in this area. Singapore won the bid to host a major international event, the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, collectively known as S2006. However, there were complex requirements and daunting challenges to be overcome in managing such a high‐ profile and large‐scale event. The paper describes how the Committee in charge delivered the IT infrastructure and systems for this large‐scale event with 23,700 participants from 184 countries. It suggests several lessons for IT executives in charge of managing large‐ scale events, mainly for planned (e.g., sports events) and to some extent for unplanned (e.g., Japan tsunami or BP oil spill crisis) events. Particularly, it highlights the need for advance preparedness, use of IS for situation awareness, cultivating relationships for communication and coordination, and the importance of vendor management and project
Transcript of Information Systems for Large-Scale Event Managementatreyi/papers/large-event.pdf · INFORMATION...
1
INFORMATIONSYSTEMSFORLARGE‐SCALEEVENTMANAGEMENT:ACASESTUDY
ForthcomingPacificAsiaJournaloftheAssociationforInformationSystems
Boon‐YuenNg
PhD,NationalUniversityofSingapore
AtreyiKankanhalli
DepartmentofInformationSystems
NationalUniversityofSingapore
ABSTRACT
Informationsystems(IS)haveconsiderableuse insupporting large‐scalecommunicationandcoordination.This isespecially important incontextssuchasmajoreventandcrisismanagementwhichhavecomplexrequirementsonpeopleandtechnology.ISfacilitatethedissemination of real‐time information and coordination among decision makers, andtherebythemanagementoftheentireevent.Thispaperdescribesacaseofmanagementanddeploymentof IS fora large‐scaleeventasanexemplar inthisarea.Singaporewonthe bid to host amajor international event, the AnnualMeetings of the InternationalMonetary Fund and World Bank, collectively known as S2006. However, there werecomplexrequirementsanddauntingchallengestobeovercomeinmanagingsuchahigh‐profileandlarge‐scaleevent.ThepaperdescribeshowtheCommitteeinchargedeliveredtheITinfrastructureandsystemsforthislarge‐scaleeventwith23,700participantsfrom184countries. It suggests several lessons for ITexecutives inchargeofmanaging large‐scaleevents,mainlyforplanned(e.g.,sportsevents)andtosomeextentforunplanned(e.g.,JapantsunamiorBPoilspillcrisis)events.Particularly,ithighlightstheneedforadvancepreparedness, use of IS for situation awareness, cultivating relationships forcommunicationandcoordination,andtheimportanceofvendormanagementandproject
2
management skills. These lessons are valuable for IS deployment for large‐scalecommunication and coordination for future mega‐events and to some degree forpreparednessforunforeseenevents.
Keywords: large‐scale communication and coordination, event/conferencemanagement,planningandpreparedness,situationawareness,ITprojectmanagement,crisismanagement
3
INTRODUCTIONANDBACKGROUND
Large‐scalecommunicationandcoordinationarenecessaryinvariouscriticalsituationssuch as military operations, healthcare epidemics, disaster management, and majoreventmanagementwhichhavecomplexlogisticsrequirements.Thisresearchareahasgained interest in recent years (Ritter et al., 2007),withnew challenges continuouslyappearingsuchastheJapanTsunami.Large‐scaleeventmanagementinvolvesmanaginginterdependenttasksamongmultiplepartiesforwhicheffectivecommunicationisakeypre‐requisite. Such communication and coordination are required both for plannedevents (e.g., international conventions and sporting events such as the Olympics andWorld Cup) as well as in response to unplanned events (e.g., disasters such ashurricanesortherecentGulfoilspill).
However, while the use of information systems (IS) is ubiquitous in practically allsectors of the economy, one of the lesser studied sectors in which ICT plays bothstrategicandoperational roles is theevents, conventions,andmeetings industry.Thisindustry deserves more attention as it can contribute substantially to regional andnationaleconomiesandstimulatethegrowthoftourismactivities(LeeandBack,2005).According to a recent market study, the meetings industry in the U.S. directlycontributed $106 billion to the GDP in 2009 and supported nearly 1.7 million jobs(Kovaleski,2011).Infact,thisrankshigherthanotherkeyindustriessuchasautomotivemanufacturingandairtransportation.
IShaveconsiderablepotentialinsupportingcommunicationandcoordinationforlarge‐scaleeventmanagement.ISfacilitatethedisseminationofreal‐timeinformationamongmultiplestakeholdersandprovidevariouscollaborationtechnologiesandtools.Large‐scaleeventmanagementoftenrequires individualstoactdecisivelyandquicklybasedoninformationfrommultipleparties.Thus,sharinganddisseminationofinformationiscritical forwhich IS are indispensable (Manoj and Baker, 2007). For instance for the2010 Fifa World Cup tournament, an innovative event management system wasdevelopedtoprovideaseamlessexperience forall fans,delegates,andstaffmembers,andtomanageassets(TheEconomicTimes,2010).
IS also play an important role in unplanned events such as crises. For example,information technology can be strategically used to coordinate rescue efforts duringdisastersoreventocombathealthcrisessuchastheSARSoutbreakin2002(Panetal.,2005).IntherecentGulfoilspill,ISwereusedtoinformandforecastthespreadofthespill. Forexample,ThomsonReutersused IS tomonitor toxicexposuresandkeep theCenter for Disease Control (CDC) and poison control centers updated (ThomsonReuters, 2010). Crowd sourcing through the Internet was deployed to compile
4
informationconcerningthedisasterwhilesocialnetworkingsitesallowedthepublictosuggestandvoteonideastostoptheoilspill(Hart,2010).
ThekeytousingISforlarge‐scaleeventandcrisismanagementliesinbeingprepared(JunglasandIves,2007).IShavetobespecificallyplannedanddevelopedforlarge‐scalecommunication and coordination, as such systems cannot be built overnight whenrequired.Instead,governmentsandfirmshavetodeliberatelyandpurposefullydeveloptheircapabilities,sothatsuchIScanbeleveragedattimesofneeds,whetherforplannedor unplanned events. Coordination for large‐scale events, such as disasters, ischallengingdue to thecomplexandchangingrequirementsand limitedresponse time(Chen et al., 2007). While IS have the potential to improve information quality andsupport decision‐making during large‐scale event management, there is a lack ofresearchandunderstandingaboutthedevelopmentanduseofsuchsystems(e.g.,Chenet al., 2007, Reddy et al., 2009). Thus studies on the successful deployment of IS forlarge‐scalecommunicationandcoordinationcanhelptoaddressthisknowledgegap.
ThispaperdescribesthewayinwhichISwereeffectivelydeployedformanagementanddelivery of a large‐scale international event. The Annual Meetings of the Boards ofGovernorsoftheInternationalMonetaryFund(IMF)andWorldBank(WB)washeldinSingaporeandalsoknownasS2006.TheAnnualMeetingsare theworld’s largestandmost comprehensivegatheringof global financial representatives.Thesemeetings areheldoutsideWashingtonD.C.onceeverythreeyears.AlongwiththeAnnualMeetings,aseriesofover300internationalmeetingsandseminarshadtobehosted inSingapore,includingtheG‐7FinanceMinisters’Meeting,theProgramofSeminarsandtheGroupofThirty International Banking Seminar. Overall, S2006 was one of the largestinternational events ever to be hosted in Singapore. There were 23,700 participants,including heads of government, finance ministers, central bank governors, and otherdelegatesfrom184countries.
The requirements for information technology for the event included providingcontinuous and seamless connectivity and computer security for the large number ofparticipants. For the organizers, IS were required for facilitating round the clocksituation awareness andpreparedness.AlthoughSingaporehasbeenknown for its ITinfrastructure and strategy (World Economic Forum, 2010‐11), meeting therequirementsfortheeventwaschallenging.TheS2006projectwascharacterizedbythehighvisibilityandlargescaleoftheevent.Asthiswasacriticaleventtobeattendedbyhigh‐profiledelegatesfromallovertheworld,itwasimperativefortheISrequirementsto bemet so that theAnnualMeetings couldproceed smoothly. The IT infrastructurehadtoberobustandabletohandletherequiredload.PerformanceandavailabilityofITserviceshadtobeguaranteedatalltimes.Securityhadtobeenforcedroundtheclocktoprotectsensitivedataandsystems.Thescheduleoftheeventwasnon‐negotiable,henceallplanning,preparationanddeploymentworkhadtobecompletedontime.
5
With the large number of participants,meetings, and other related events, SingaporeInternationalConventionandExhibitionCentre(Suntec)waschosenastheappropriatevenue forS2006.Suntec isarenowned, internationalvenue formeetings, conventionsandexhibitions.Within thevenue,morethan1000temporaryofficeshadtobesetupfor the delegates’ use during the event. Since Suntec is rented out continuously fordifferentactivities, theITinfrastructureforthetemporaryofficeshadtobeswiftlysetupandtorndownaftertheevent.Thus,IShadtodevelopedanddeployedforensuringconnectivity, situation awareness, security protection during the event period, andcoordination between public and private sector organizations and event participants.ThiswasthedauntingtaskfacingtheChairmanandtheCommunicationsInfrastructuresub‐committee(referredtoastheCIfromnowon)oftheS2006OrganizingCommittee.
Overall, with the lack of research and understanding of effective IS deployment forlarge‐scale eventmanagement, this case study aims to answer the research question:HowcouldITinfrastructureandISapplicationsbesuccessfullyplanned,implemented,anddelivered tomeet the requirements for suchevents?Accordingly,webeginwith a briefreview of the literature on IS development and deployment. This is followed by theresearch methodology, case description and findings in each phase of the IS projectstudied.Thefindingsaredescribedintermsoftheprojectrequirementsandphases.Foreachphase,wedescribetheactivitiesandITsupport,issuesinvolvedinmatchingITtothe task requirements, and the IT solutions derived. Finally, we describe the lessonslearnt from this caseandderivea frameworkof IS for large‐scaleeventmanagement.Wealsodiscusshowthelessonsmaybeusefultosomeextentforunplannedsituations,suchascrisismanagementanddisasterrecovery.Thisisbecausewhileplannedeventssuch as the S2006differ fromunplanned events such as natural disasters in termsofflexibility for unanticipated requirements, public response management, andconsequences,bothkindsofeventsrequirecontinuousawareness,swiftcommunicationandcoordination,andmanagementofsecuritythreats,allofwhichareenabledthroughtheuseofIS.
LITERATUREREVIEW
While there is limited literature on IS for eventmanagement (Rai and Sambamurthy,2006),considerableresearchhasbeenconductedonISdevelopmentanddeploymentingeneral and in other contexts, which may be partly useful for our study on eventmanagement. A recent study by McLeod and MacDonell (2011) has reviewed the ISproject literature and developed an updated and comprehensive classificationframeworkforthefactorsthatinfluenceISprojectoutcomes.Thesefactorsaregroupedinto four categories i.e.,peopleandaction,developmentprocesses,project content,and
6
institutionalcontext.Below,wediscusseachcategoryandthethemesunderitthatmayberelevanttoISforlarge‐scaleeventmanagement.
PeopleandAction
Several key stakeholders have been defined for IS projects e.g., developers, projectmanager, users, and external agents (e.g., vendors or clients). A groupof these actorsconstitutetheprojectteamthatisresponsiblefortheISdevelopmentanddeployment.Pastresearchhasidentifiedtwoimportantattributesofteammembersforthesuccessof a project, i.e., experience of the developers and knowledge of users (Kirsch, 2000).While technical and business experience are important for the project team, softcompetenciescouldbecriticalformanagingrelationshipsinlargeprojects(Dillonetal.,2011).
Previousresearchhasalso identifiedvariouscompetencies for ITprojectmanagers i.e.,team leadership, planning and control, relationship building, achievement and clientorientation,problemsolving, interpersonalandteamdevelopmentskills(Napieretal.,2009).Withtheincreasinglevelofcomplexity,particularlyinlarge‐scaleprojectswithmultiple stakeholders, it is important to understand howprojectmanagers should beequippedtodealwithsuchdynamics(ThomasandMengel,2008).
External relationships refer to the linkageswithexternalconstituents suchas vendorsand clients. The nature of the IS‐client relationship can affect project outcomes. Therelationshipmayvaryfrombeingarduoustotrustful(Koetal.,2005),whichcanaffecthow conflicts are resolved. Specifically, conflicting assumptions and expectationsmayaffect the understanding of requirements, system design, and eventually the projectoutcome (Ovaska et al., 2005). Social interdependencies between IS developers andclientscanalsoinfluencetheextentofknowledgesharingbetweenthemandresultantproject performance (Pee et al., 2010). At the same time, today’s dynamic businessenvironmentrequiresITprojectstosourcefrommultiplevendorsandmanagecomplexrelationships with them as well (Levina and Su, 2008). It is thus important tounderstand how communication and external relationships can be fostered for large‐scaleISprojectssuchastheS2006eventunderstudy.
DevelopmentProcesses
Aspectsofsystemsdevelopmentprocessesare likely to influence ISprojectoutcomes.The key processes include requirements determination, project management, userparticipation, and user training (McLeod and MacDonell, 2011). Requirementsdeterminationinvolvesgatheringandanalysisofrequirements,typicallyfromend‐users,followedbysystemdesignbasedontherequirements.Itisaimedatachievingashared
7
understandingoftheinformation,processesandfunctionsthatneedtobeincorporatedintothenewsystem.Ambiguous,changing,incomplete,ormisunderstoodrequirementsareamajorconcerninlarge‐scaleISdevelopmentprojects,whichmayleadtofailuresifnotmanagedadequately(HartmanandAshrafi,2002).
Projectmanagement concerns planning, organizing, andmanaging resources (human,financial, and technical) throughout the duration of the IS project to achieve itsobjectives.Planningactivitiesincludedefiningtheproject,estimatingitssize,cost,andschedule,assessingtherisk,anddevelopingaprojectplan.Theseactivitiesareusuallyundertaken by a project manager or a committee in the case of large and complexprojects. Project management techniques and models are considered particularlyrelevant for these projects (Gowan and Mathieu 2005) and have also beenrecommended for event management as they provide guidance for tackling variouschallengesinvolved(ShoneandParry,2010).
User participation and training refer to activities performed by users in defining andtesting the system followed by their training to successfully use the system. Previousresearchhasshownthatparticipationfromusersisanimportantfactorforthesuccessof ISplanninganddevelopment(HeandKing,2008).Useracceptance is facilitatedbytheir participation in the project right from the early stages of development.Participation also results in greater ownership of the IS project and a better matchbetween user expectations and the delivered system (Irani et al., 2001). This is ofparticular concern in large and complex IS projects with multiple groups of oftenheterogeneous users. User training is also considered to impact project outcomesthroughinfluencinguserattitudestowardsthesystem(SkokandLegge,2002).Trainingis most effective when users gain skills and experience in using the system therebybuildingtheirconfidence,knowledge,andacceptanceof theIS.Sinceusertrainingcanbe arduous for large and complex IS with multiple user groups that performinterdependent work using the system, additional research would be useful foridentifyingtrainingstrategiesforsuchcontexts.
ProjectContent
Thiscategory includes ISprojectcharacteristics, resources,andtechnologysupportingsystem development and deployment (McLeod and MacDonell, 2011). ProjectcharacteristicssuchassizeandcomplexityhavebeenseentoaffectISprojectoutcomes(Johnson et al., 2001; Kautz et al., 2004). Large projects aremore likely to have highcomplexity, task interdependence, need revision, require more resources andcommunication,andhavemorepotentialforconflict.Additionally,ISprojectcomplexityarisesoutofincreasingfunctionality,scopeandspeedoftechnicalchange,andtheneedforsystemintegration.Bothcharacteristicsaremanifestinthelarge‐scaleprojectunder
8
study,whichrequiresfurtherresearchtoelucidatethebestpracticesofmanagingsuchprojects.
Further, the level of resources (financial, human, and technical) available to the ISprojectarecentraltoitsoutcomes.Theallocationofadequateresourcestoaprojectcanindicate topmanagement support (Kearns, 2006), whereas the lack of resources canresult in the project being stalled (Lederer and Sethi, 2003). For large‐scale systems,bothtopmanagementsupport(Biehl,2007)andsufficientresourceallocation(Bechoret al., 2010) are considered as critical success factors. At the same time, resourceallocationandmanagementbecomescomplexwhenmultiplestakeholdersareinvolved,requiringfurtherresearchinthisarea.
TherearevariousissuesrelatedtothetechnologyforsupportingISdevelopment,whichimpact project outcomes. Specifically, selection and use of inappropriate technology,rapid changes in technology and infrastructure, as well as inadequate technicalresourcescanadverselyaffecttheISproject(KimandPeterson,2003).Forlarge‐scaleandcomplexISprojects,customizedtoolsandtechniquesforprojectmanagementandmonitoring may need to be developed since existing methods may not sufficient.However, new or unproven tools introduce risk in the IS development that requiresadditional planning to alleviate. Thus, further research is needed to elucidate howappropriatetechnologiescanbedevelopedanddeployedtosupportthemanagementofsuchprojects.
InstitutionalContext
The fourth category of factors relates to the organizational characteristics andenvironmental conditions for IS project success. Theorganizationalattributes includeculture, policies and practices, the history of systems development and use, and thelegacy systems and infrastructure (McLeod and MacDonell, 2011). Since large‐scaleprojects suchas theoneunder study involvemultipleagencies andexternalpartners,the diversity of organizational cultures and policies may impact the IS projectdevelopment and implementation. At the same time, the legacy systems available ineachparticipating organizationmight influencehow thenew ISproject is envisioned.The IS project under study thus provides an opportunity to examine how diverseorganizational culture, practices, and systems can be brought together for a commonobjective. The environmental conditions include the socio‐political, economic, andnational context for the IS project. Since, the project under studywas a government‐organized event of importance to the whole country, various national considerationsmaydeterminetheprojectobjectivesandrequirements.
9
Basedontheaboveliteraturereviewandthemes,weanalyzedthecurrentcasewiththepossibilityofaddingtoandrevisingtheexistingthemesaccordingtothecasefindings.
RESEARCHMETHODOLOGY
AqualitativecasestudyapproachwasadoptedtoanalyzetheS2006projecttoanswerourresearchquestiononhowITinfrastructureandISapplicationscouldbesuccessfullyimplementedanddeliveredforlarge‐scaleeventmanagement.Thecasestudyapproachprovides richness of data and allows researchers to study the use of IS in a naturalsetting(Walsham,2006).Moreover,S2006wasarareandimportantevent,thusmakingthiscaseuniqueandrevelatory(Yin,2008).Thismethodisthereforeasuitablechoicefor studying the implementation and use of IS for management of such a large‐scaleevent.Thisstudyadoptstheinterpretiveapproachwheretheoryisnotbeingtested.Thefocus is to understand the context of how IS are used and the process whereby thesystemsinteractwiththecontext(KleinandMyers,1999).
CaseBackground
The planning and preparation of this event would end up taking four years andmobilizing 8000 employees from various government agencies, 4000 volunteers, and800militarypersonnel.Allkindsofrequirementshadtobecarefullyplannedfor,suchas theaccommodationofdelegates, the logisticsof themanymeetings, thesecurityoftheparticipantsandinformation,andtheconnectivityrequiredforthisevent.
The making of S2006 required close collaboration and partnership between thegovernmentandtheJointSecretariatofIMFandWB(referredtoastheJSfromnowon).It also necessitated coordination among the various government agencies. Further, itrequiredcollaborationandpartnershipbetweenthegovernmentandtheprivatesector.Thus, anadditional challengewasmanagingmultiple stakeholders and their changingrequirements.
The S2006 Steering Committee consisted of Permanent Secretaries (senior‐mostofficials) from various government agencies. Under its guidance, the inter‐agencyOrganizingCommitteewasformedfortheplanningandcoordinationofthisevent.TheOrganizing Committee further set up ten sub‐committees to be in charge of differentareas (see Appendix A for the details of the sub‐committees of the OrganizingCommittee).TheCIwasasub‐committeethatwasresponsibleforalltheISfunctionsfortheevent. Itsmemberscame fromthe InfocommDevelopmentAuthorityofSingapore
10
(IDA)1,whichisagovernmentagencyservingtherolesofinfocommindustrychampion,nationalinfocommmasterplanneranddeveloper,andGovernmentCIO.
TheCIhadtoplan,oversee,manageandco‐ordinatethedeploymentofcommunicationsinfrastructure, such as telecommunication systems and IS applications for the event.Thesesystemshad tomeet therequirementsof the JSand theOrganizingCommittee.Thegoalwastoensurethehigheststandardsofcommunicationsinfrastructuresupportandservicesthroughouttheevent.Theareasunderthepurviewof theCIwere:(1) ISapplications;(2)Desktopenvironmentandhelpdeskservices;(3)Tele‐communicationand postal services; (4) Network infrastructure; and (5) Server hosting facilities andservices,andelectricalpowersupportsystem.
Toservethedifferentareas,theCIsetuptheorganizationstructureasshowninFigure1.Therewerealtogethernineteams,ledbyteamleaders.Eachteamconsistedoftwoorthreemembers.Apart from the fiveareas listed in thepreviousparagraph that theCIwas in charge of, there were four additional teams: (1) Treasurer to take care offinancial matters; (2) IT Security to ensure the security of the IT infrastructure andapplications;(3)TechnologyShowcasetoprepareanITshowcaseforthedelegates;and(4)PartnershipandSponsorshiptoliaisewithpartnersandsponsorsfromtheprivatesector.
Figure1:OrganizationStructureofthe CI
1TheauthorswouldliketothanktheInfocommDevelopmentAuthorityofSingaporeforresearchaccess.
Treasurer NetworkInfrastructure
Secretariat
CIChairman
ISApplicationsITSecurity
ServerHosting
Facilities/Services&
Partnershipand
Sponsorship
Desktop
Environment&
Telecomand
Postal
Technology
Showcase
11
DataCollectionandAnalysis
Multipledatacollectionmethodswereusedforthisstudy(KleinandMyers,1999).11semi‐structured interviewswere conductedwith all keymembers of the CI after theevent.TheintervieweesincludedtheCIChairman,theCIsecretariat,andteamleadersin charge of various areas such as network infrastructure, server hosting facilities, ISapplications and helpdesk services (refer to Figure 1). Interview questions aredevelopedbasedonthetimelineandactivities/phasesofS2006.TheinterviewprotocolisprovidedinAppendixB.Theinterviewswereontheaverageoneandone‐halfhoursinduration.All interviewsweretranscribedandanalyzed.Additionally, largeamountsofsecondary data were collected from the different stakeholders including publicitymaterialsandkeyprojectdocuments.Othersecondarydatacamefrommediacoverageas well as press releases on the Internet. Cumulatively, these data were analyzed tocreateadetailedhistoryoftheeventandthephases,aswellastoidentifykeylessonsfromthiscase.
As the focus of this study is not on theory generation or testing, we used a “looserapproach”(Walsham,2006,p.325)forinterpretiveresearch.Thoughthevariableswerenot predefined, our analysis was guided by the themes derived from our literaturereviewofITprojectmanagementliteraturewiththeallowanceforidentifyingadditionalthemesandconcepts.Impressionsandnoteswerewrittendownaftereachinterviewtogenerate amoreorganized setof themes.We chose to focuson issues and challengesencounteredbytheS2006teamandhowthesechallengeswereovercome.Inadditiontoorganizing data based on issues, datawas also coded based on the phases of projectmanagement, i.e., planning,preparation, andexecution (ProjectManagement Institute,2008).
The rest of this paperdescribes the IS requirements and challenges for S2006, the ITactivities and support, andhow the requirements arematchedwith the activities.Webegin by describing the IS requirements, followed by the three main phases of theproject, i.e., planning, preparation and execution. The planning phase describes thegatheringofISrequirements,whereasthepreparationandexecutionphasedescribethecorresponding challengesand their solutions, andhow the requirements arematchedwiththeactivities.Finally, thepaperdiscusses the lessonsthatwerederived fromtheprojectanddevelopsaframeworkthatintegratestheselessons.
REQUIREMENTSFORIS
12
Through our coding and analysis of interview data, we derived the three main ISrequirements for the S2006 project, i.e., staying connected, situation awareness, andsecurityatalltimes.
StayingConnected
Informationtechnologywasanecessityforparticipantstostayconnectedglobally,beitthroughcomputerInternetaccess,orthroughtheuseofmobilephones.Asthedelegateswerefrom184differentcountriesanddifferenttime‐zones,itwasimportanttoprovideconnectivityatalltimessothatparticipantscouldcommunicateamongstthemselvesaswell as with their home countries. Besides basic network connectivity, the JS alsorequested that delegates should be provided themeans to send and receive internalmessagesamong themselves.TheCI also looked into theoptionofprovidingwirelessaccessasavalue‐addedserviceforthedelegates.Thepurposewastoprovideseamlessconnectivity to the Internet, anytime and anywhere in the vicinity of the meetingvenues.TheDeputyChiefExecutiveofIDAandDirector‐General(Telecoms)commentedinamediarelease:
Havingawell‐connectedandseamlessInfocomminfrastructureinplaceisintegralfortheoperationofsuchalargescaleinternationalevent.
The CI also aimed to provide delegates with various informational services, such asnewsupdatesandweatheralerts.Suchservicesharnessedtheconnectivityprovidedbythe IT infrastructure so thatdelegates couldaccess the latest informationat all times.Last,abusinesscenterwasrequiredtoprovidetelecommunicationsandpostalservicesfor the delegates. Services needed included telecommunication, postal, courier,broadbandservicesandrentalofcommunicationsequipmentandlines.
Therewereseveralchallengesinvolvedinmeetingtheserequirements.First, thelargescaleandcomplexityoftheeventrequiredasubstantialamountofITequipment,suchasroutersandcomputers.However, theseequipmentswouldonlybeused forashortspanoftimeduringtheAnnualMeetings.Purchasingtheequipmentrequiredsignificantfundsandthedisposaloftheassetsaftertheeventwouldbeproblematic.Second,astheeventwouldbeheldinrentedpremisesandtemporaryoffices,theset‐upandtear‐downoftheITinfrastructuremustbedonequicklywithintherentalperiod.ThisimpliesthattheCIhadtodeployalargenumberofpersonneltocompletethetasksspeedily.TheseweresomeoftheissuesthattheCIChairmanhadtograpplewithwhiledecidinghowtomeetthekeyrequirementofprovidingISforkeepingparticipantsconnected.
SituationAwareness
13
Inordertomanagehundredsofmeetingsattendedbytensofthousandsofparticipants,theCIwasfacedwithadauntingtask,i.e.,tomonitortheevents(includinginformationpertainingtomeetings,venuesandparticipants)andbekeptupdatedonallsituationsinreal‐time. In the initial planning days, the team conceptualized a system that wouldtrackonlyexceptionalincidents,butsubsequentlyitbecameclearthatthesystemmustaidinmaintainingsituationawarenessatalltimes.AsexplainedbytheCIChairman:
Acontrolandcommandsystemwasnotinouragenda[initially].Itwasmorelikeaneventmonitoringsystem.Then,oneyearbeforetheeventstarted…[we]turnedthiseventmonitoringtimetablesystem intoacommandandcontrolsystem… forthebettermanagementofthewholeevent.
To satisfy this objective, the CI team realized that existing systems would not beadequate. A new applicationwould have to be designed tomeet the requirements ofcapturing incident/situation and status of events and venues, indicating the level ofattentionrequiredforeachincident/situationusingcolorcodes,sendingnotificationstousersofthesystems,interfacingwithhandheldcommunicationdevices,integratingwithanotherapplication(aPersonnelRecordSystem)thatcontaineddelegates’information,andgeneratingstatusreports.
Withthenon‐negotiabledeadline,theCIfacedademandingtasktodesignanddevelopsuch a complex application. As the users of this new application came from differentgovernment agencies and subcommittees, it was a challenge to gather and meet therequirements from the diverse users and to ensure the effective deployment of thesystemamongthem.
SecurityatAllTimes
Past IMF/WB events witnessed protests by anti‐globalization activists attempting tospread their ideology through various tactics ranging from physical blockage of theevent venue to cyber attacks. Activists could attempt to create cyber disruptions bytargeting Singapore government’s web presence in order to discredit the event andembarrasstheorganizingcountry.Inviewofthisrisk,oneoftherequirementsfortheCIwas to set up a computer securitymonitoring service for the IS applications and theevent website. This was to ensure that any computer threat to these systems wasquickly identified and addressed. The onus was on the CI to ensure the smooth andsecure operation of all IT infrastructure and services at all times, without anycompromisetotheconfidentiality,integrity,andavailabilityofthesystemsanddata.
14
PLANNINGPHASE:GATHERINGREQUIREMENTS
FouryearsbeforeSingaporehostedtheAnnualMeetings,theOrganizingCommitteewasofficiallysetup,representedbyvariousgovernmentagencieswhichwere inchargeofdifferentareas.Atthesametime,theCIandtheothersub‐committeeswerealsoformed.Subsequently,CImembershadtobereshuffledassomeofthemembersatthatpointoftime were working in different locations in Singapore with other commitments. TheChairmanoftheCIsawtheneedtofillthepositionswithmemberswhowerebasedatthe IDAHeadquarterswith commitments only to theHeadquarters, so as to facilitatemeetingsandtohavemorecontrolovermanpowerresources.
Themajor task for theCI during this phasewas the gathering of requirements for ITinfrastructure and applications. Thiswas done in variousways. First, representativesfrom theCI visited theAnnualMeetingsheld inDubaiandWashingtonD.C., toobtainfirst‐handexperienceonhowtheeventswereconducted.Second,theJSalsofurnishedthe CI with their IS requirements based on what was used in the previous event.Subsequently,anupdatedversionoftherequirementswasprovided,withadjustmentsbasedonhowtechnologieshadchanged.Third, requirementsweregathered fromtheotheragenciesintheOrganizingCommittee.
Inresponsetotherequirementsfromthedifferentsources,theCIidentifiedtheneedtodevelop the following IS applications: (1)OrganizingCommitteeTracking andUpdateSystem(OCTUS)whichwasrequiredforeventmonitoringandsituationawareness;(2)Personnel Record System (PRS) which was needed to manage the personnelinformation of the delegates and would be integrated with OCTUS; (3) S2006 EmailSystem(SES)whichwasbasedonarequirementfromtheJStofacilitatethesendingofinternal messages among delegates during the event; and (4)Web‐based RepositorySystem(WBRS)whichwastofacilitatethesharingofdocumentsamongtheSingaporegovernment agencies. The WBRS was implemented and extensively used by all sub‐committeestosharedocumentsduringtheplanningandpreparationphases.
TheCIconductedpreliminarysessionswiththevarioussub‐committeestounderstandanddocumenttheuserrequirementsforOCTUSandPRSduringtheplanningstage.AsIDA did not have the internal capabilities to develop the applications, the systemdevelopmentwastobeoutsourcedtovendors.Theplanwastocall fortendersduringthepreparationphaseforthedevelopmentofOCTUSandPRS.Otherrequirementsweregatheredforthehostingenvironmentfortheservers.TheCIplannedtocallatendertoconstruct the server rooms and supply air‐conditioning, electrical andback‐uppowerfortherooms.TheconclusionoftheplanningphasewasmarkedbytheapprovaloftheplansbytheOrganizingCommittee.ThisphaserevealedtheinitialISrequirementsfor
15
the event. However, some of these requirements remained fluid throughout thepreparationandevenexecutionphasesduetothedynamicnatureoftheevent.
PREPARATIONPHASE:MEETINGREQUIREMENTS
Thepreparationphasewascharacterizedbythecallingoftenderstoimplementsystemsand to obtain IT equipment to meet the requirements. The main activities were thewritingoftenderspecificationsandevaluationoftenders.Thereweretwokeygroupsofusersproviding requirements for this event i.e., the JS and theOrganizingCommittee.The Organizing Committee’s requirements came from the various sub‐committees inorder to support and provide the necessary IS services and equipment for theirrespectiveresponsibilities.
ITInfrastructureProvision
FortheITequipment,theCIhadgatheredresponsesfromallagenciestofindouttheirneeds. This was done in several rounds, in which the agencies had to justify thenecessityanduseoftheequipment.However,therewasonemajorissuetoberesolved,i.e.,thedisposaloftheassetsafterusingtheequipmentfortheevent.Asawayout,theCIChairmanrequestedtheOrganizingCommitteetomandatethattheagenciessourcetheITequipmenttheyneededfromwithintheirownorganizations.TheCIwouldonlyberesponsibleforprovidingITequipmenttobeusedbytheJSandthedelegates.
Although this mandate cut down requirements substantially, the amount of ITequipment necessary to meet the requirements of the JS and the delegates was stillsignificant. The key concernwas asset disposal and cost savings. Regular discussionsandnegotiations tookplacewith the JS throughvideoandphoneconferencingduringthe preparation phase tominimize the requirementswithout affecting the JS’s needs.Subsequently,theCIpartneredwithvariousITcompaniesforsponsorshipofequipmentandservices.Forexample,networkinggiantCiscoSystemswasropedintoprovidethenetworkinfrastructureforthedelegatestostayconnected.Also,1020analogand1025multi‐line digital phones were provided by Alcatel and connected to Alcatel’s digitalPABXsystem.
Fortheremainingequipment,theCIcalledfortenders.Theleasingoptionwaspreferredas thisavoided theassetdisposalproblemandprovidedbettervalue‐for‐money.Also,some of the equipmentswere leased fromwithin the government. For example, afterdiscovering that one of the government agencies would be purchasing 1000 new
16
personalcomputersfortheirownorganization,theCIarrangedtoleasethecomputersfromthemforS2006tobereturnedingoodconditionaftertheevent.
AlthoughtheCIhadgatheredinitialrequirementsfromtheJSandtheothergovernmentagencies, the requirements changed frequently. In almost all cases, the requirementswereincreased.ChangingrequirementsfrommultiplepartiesposedamajorchallengetotheCI.Asaresult,theCIconstantlyre‐negotiatedwiththepartnersfromtheprivatesector to meet the increased requirements. Whenever there was an increase inrequirements, the CI again approached the private firms that were providing theequipment. As theywere supplying their equipment and/or services out of goodwillratherthanwithpayment,theCIensuredcordialrelationshipswiththem.TheChairmanoftheCIelaborated:
Whenwetalkedtothesponsors,itwasatotallydifferentballgamebecauseitwasreallyhowmuchtheywerewillingtohelpus.Wecannottreatthemlikeavendorandgoafter them.Wereallyneed tobemorediplomaticand it involvesa lotofconvincing.
TheCIalsokeptbuffersorextraresourcesbyaskingformorethanwhatwasrequired.Thus,theCInegotiatedatoneendand“buffered”attheotherendfortheequipment.Allbufferswereusedupeventuallyastherewerefrequentincreasesofrequirements.TheCIChairmanrecountedthisincident:
Wesaidtoourpartner,forexample,“Weneed3003GSIMcards.Isitpossibleforyou togive them tome?”When they said yes,wewentback to thegovernmentagency and said “Yes, we have met your requirement!” Then they said, “Is itpossibleto[increase]byanother100?”
Other tenders that were called for during this period included tenders for networkcabling infrastructure, ITdesktopequipments, setupandoperational support forbothnetworkanddesktop,telecommunicationsequipment,andconstructionofserverroomsandprovisionofhostingservices.
ISApplicationsDesign
In response to the need for situation awareness, the CI designed an IS applicationspecifically for this event i.e., Organizing Committee Tracking and Update System(OCTUS).OCTUSwas the first‐of‐its‐kind toolused foreventmonitoringandsituation
17
awareness.OneofthekeyrequirementsofOCTUSwasthatitshouldbeabletointerfacewith3Gmobilephonessothat informationforthecommandcentercouldbeobtainedthroughthesephones.Forexample,whenimportantdelegates(suchasgovernorsandheads of central banks) arrived at the airport, they were each received by a liaisonofficerwhouseda3Gphonetoupdatethearrivalandalertthehotelstaffmemberstoreceivethedelegate.
OCTUSalsohadtointerfacewiththePersonnelRecordSystem(PRS)whichcontainedinformation about the delegates, such as their registration details, arrival times andaccommodation arrangements. This was another input to OCTUS which allowed thesystem to generate information such as estimated attendance of a specific event.Together, these information sources allowed OCTUS to provide complete situationawareness.
TenderspecificationsforthedevelopmentofOCTUSandPRSwereprepared,reviewedand approved. The major phases of system development were: (1) Detailedrequirementsgathering fromusers; (2)Development; (3)Useracceptance testing; (4)Usertraining;and(5)Implementation.TheSESemailsystemwasalsodevelopedtobedeployed in e‐messaging kiosks. Delegates were able to communicate with otherparticipantsusingtheSESthroughthekiosks.
With the increasing amount of information, complexity and coordination acrossagencies, the Web‐based Repository System (WBRS) was now insufficient forcoordination purposes. The Organizing Committee saw the need for an integratedproject management tool to be used by all the agencies. The CI thus purchased anddeployed the Enterprise Project Management System (EPMS). Though theimplementation of the EPMSwas through a top‐downmandate, the usagewasnot ashighasexpected.OnepossiblereasonwasthattheEPMSwasintroducedratherlate,inthemiddle of the preparation phase. By this time,most users had already developedtheirownmeansofmanagingtheproject.ACIusernoted:
Wetriedtousetheprojectmanagementtool. Itwouldhavebeenuseful if itwasused.But it requirespeople toworkdifferently from theirusualway.Weneedalonger runway…the tool came in very late…it requires quite a bit of behavioralchange.EventhoughIamIT‐trained,Ifinditquitehardtomakethechange.
OfferingValueAddedServicesandOtherPreparations
18
BesidesprovisioningfortheITinfrastructureandapplications,preparationswerealsomadetooffervalue‐addedservicesforthedelegates.TheCIpartneredwithgovernmentagenciesandtheprivatesector,asdescribedbelow.
Oneofthevalue‐addedserviceswastheprovisionofwirelessaccessforthedelegatesatSuntecandtheshoppingareaswithinwalkingdistance fromSuntec.ThisservicegavedelegatesseamlessconnectivitytotheInternet,anytimeandanywhereinthevicinityofthemeeting venues. This wasmade possible through a wireless broadband programinitiatedby IDA,[email protected]@SGprogramispartofSingapore’snation‐wideNextGenerationNationalInfocommInfrastructureinitiative.Wireless@SGallowed users to enjoy free, both in‐door and outdoor seamless wireless broadbandaccess in most public areas. IDA saw the potential synergy in making Wireless@SGavailablefirsttothedelegatesandpublicvisitors inthecentralshoppingareasforthedurationof theAnnualMeetings.Thiswasa lead‐upto [email protected]‐winsituationasthedelegatesbenefitedfromthewirelessfreeserviceandexperiencedhowSingaporeleveragesITforproductivity,while IDAused this platform as a preview for the full island‐wide roll out, and as anopportunitytoreceivefeedbackfromuserstoimprovetheservicebeforeitscommercialdeployment.
For other value‐added services, the CI worked with companies such as local carrierSingTel to provide US$1.3 million worth of voice, mobile, data and broadbandconnectivity to participants. Various informational services, such as news updates,weatheralertsandflightscheduleswerealsomadeavailabletothedelegates.Further,theCIpartneredwithE‐Coptomeetthehighlevelofvigilancerequirementsandensure24x7 information security surveillance services for round‐the‐clock proactivesurveillanceandprotectionoftheOCTUSnetworkandeventwebsite.TheCIalsomadepreparationsso thatalldetailswere takencareofand theeventwouldrunsmoothly.Flowchartsfordifferentscenariosandtasksweredrawnupsothatallprocedureswerecleartomembersandcontingencieswereplannedfor.
TheCIChairmanwasalsomindfuloftheteamdynamicsandcooperationwithintheCI.Hewasproactive in organizing teambuilding exercises so thatmembers could get toknow each other well and learn how to co‐operate. During these team buildingexercises,CImemberswerehonest in sharing theirexpectationsaswell aswhat theyrequired from other teams in the CI so as to improve their work procedures. TheamicablerelationshipsandtheregularmeetingswithintheCIhelpedintheirdeliveryofqualitywork.ACImembernoted:
19
Theteamdynamicsisquitegood.Weareallquiteclosetoeachother…WithintheCI,we’reprettycohesive.
However,itwasmorechallengingfortheCItoworkwiththeOrganizingCommitteeandtheothersub‐committees.ACImembernoted:
Witha lotofdifferent sub‐committees, it isnot easy to communicate.Youdon’tknowwhoiswho,andpeoplekeepchanging.Thenlatertherewasorganizationalchange…itcanbedifficult.
EXECUTIONPHASE:DELIVERINGREQUIREMENTS
ThemaintasksfortheexecutionphaseincludeddeliveringandsettingupITequipment,and deploying IS applications. The execution phase also included themonitoring andoperationsoftheactualevent.
DeliveringITInfrastructureandServices
Morethan12,000cablingpointsandover40wirelessaccesspointsweresetup,withmorethan960kmworthofcables inuse.Morethan1000delegates’officesaswellasmeeting rooms were equipped with high‐speed local digital leased circuits, Internetbroadband access, desktop computers, printers and telephones to facilitatecommunications and operations. Other equipment provided to the delegates for theirconnectivity included 1665 mobile phones, 1328 SIM cards, 710 printers and 80barcode scanners. To allow delegates to send and receive internal messages amongthemselves,theCIarrangedfor30e‐messagingkiosks.ThekioskswerealsooneofthemeansbywhichdelegatescouldaccesstheInternet.
One of the major challenges was the short amount of time given to set up the ITinfrastructure. This task had to be closely coordinatedwith the vendors in charge ofconstructingmore than 1000 temporary offices. The laying of network cabling pointshad to coincide with the construction of offices and the IT equipment could only bedeployedafterthetemporaryofficeswereready.Thevendorwasgivenonly12daystoinstall the 12,000 network points. After the network infrastructure was set up, thevendor, togetherwith theCIand the internetserviceprovider, conducted testson theresiliency of the network before the system was commissioned for full deployment.Following the deployment, the vendor had to setup and configure the personal
20
computersaccordingtotherequirementsfromtheJSandensureallequipmentwasinworkingcondition.Uponcompletionofthedeployment,aninventorylistwasprepareddetailingtheequipmentthatwassetupineachroomorarea.
Abusinesscenterwasalsosetuptoprovidetelecommunicationsandpostalservicesforthe delegates. Some of these services and equipment were made available throughpartnership with Singapore Telecommunications, Singapore Post, DHL and UnitedParcel Service. TheCI gave themobile phones and SIM cards to the JS representativewhowasinchargeofdistributingthemtotheinternal JSstaffmembersandcollectingandreturningtheequipmenttotheCIaftertheconclusionoftheAnnualMeetings.Evenduringthisperiod,rightuptotheeveof theevent, therewerechangingrequirementsfromtheJS.NegotiationswerestillbeingconductedwiththeJSduetothelast‐minutechanges. The CI alsoworked quicklywith the vendors and partners in providing theinfrastructureand services tomeet these requirements.By this time, the value‐addedservices,suchaswirelessaccessandinformationalservices,werealsoreadytobeusedbythedelegates.
DeployingISApplicationsandScenarioExercises
Training sessions for OCTUS were held after the system was commissioned anddeployed. Due to the large number of personnel who would be using OCTUS, masstraining sessions and train‐the‐trainer sessionswere conducted,withone‐to‐onehelpgivenafterthetrainingsessionsforthosewhoneededmoreassistance.OCTUSwasalsoused during the scenario exercises described below, giving staff members theopportunitytopracticeusingthesystembeforetheactualevent.ThePersonnelRecordSystem PRS was also deployed prior to the event. The system was populated withpersonnel data. Further, the SES email system was ready to be deployed on the e‐messagingkiosks.VolunteersweretrainedtoassistdelegateswhoneededhelpwithSESorthee‐kiosks.
AkeyrequirementrelatedtoOCTUSwasensuringsmoothandsecureoperationsatalltimes during the event. One of the highlights of the execution phase was conductingscenario exercises to prepare for contingencies. Scenario exercises are tools to drawparticipantsintoaconvincingportrayalofaplausiblereality(Golesetal.,2005)andtestthe response of participants. These were organized by the Crisis and ContingencyWorkgroup which was part of the Organizing Committee. There were a number ofscenario exercises, ranging from table top exerciseswhere the scenarioswereplayedthroughinaroomtofull‐troopexerciseswhereparticipantsreactedandrespondedtosimulated scenarios. Although the CI Chairman needed to assign only keyrepresentatives to participate, he made a decision for all members of the CI toparticipateinthescenarioexercises,sothateveryonewastrainedandfullypreparedforallkindsofscenarios.Thescenariosweredecidedbytheworkgroup,togetherwithkey
21
representativesfromeachsub‐committee.ExamplesofthescenariosfortheCIincludedvirusattacksonsystems,slownessofnetwork,andbreakdownofe‐messagingkiosks.
Throughthescenarioexercises,afewobjectiveswereachieved.Peopleknewhowtheyshouldrespondandwhotheyshouldcallshould incidentsoccur.Thecommunicationsfunctionswerethustested.OCTUSwasalsousedbytheparticipantstologincidentsandupdate thecommandcentre.Through theexercises,participantsbecame familiarwiththeuseofOCTUS,sothattheywouldnotfumbleiftheyhadtologorupdateanincidentduring the event. The scenario exercises also helped the CI to get to know people inothersub‐committees.OneoftheparticipantsfromtheCInoted:
Theexerciseisuseful,asitputsallthepeopleinaroomand[makesyou]sitnexttothepersonandworkwiththeperson.Theobjectiveofknowingwhotocallwasagoodexercise…wealsopracticedhowtologtheseincidentstoOCTUSandhowtoproperlyclosetheincidents.
Thebenefitsof the scenarioexerciseswerealso seenwhensomeof the scenariosdidoccurduringtheactualevent.Everybodywaswell‐preparedtohandlethesescenariosas theyhadpracticed the responseduring the scenario exercises. TheChairmanof CIelaborated:
Yes, [some of the scenarios occurred]… virus attack, network slowness…butwemanagedtocontainit,because…wehadgonethroughthescenario.Allofusknewwhattodo.
MonitoringtheEvent
During the actual event, the CI members worked in two shifts so that real‐timemonitoringandresponsecouldtakeplaceroundtheclock.Monitoringofnetworkandthe hosting environment were ongoing. Daily summary reports with incident detailswere submitted. All incidents were logged and updated on OCTUS. Information fromOCTUSwasprojectedonscreensinthecommandandoperationscentretokeepallstaffmembers updated on the situations. The most important function of OCTUS wassituationawareness.TheChairmanofCIelaborated:
Weknewwhereandwheneacheventwasgoingtobe.Iftheprojectorwasfaultyweknewitimmediatelybecauseitisareal‐timesystem.Weknewwhichpersonnel
22
were sick.We knew if the limousine driver [of a delegate]was involved in anaccident…Wekneweverythingthrough[OCTUS].
The use of the 3G mobile phones together with OCTUS provided rapid informationdisseminationamongtheliaisonofficers,theOrganizingCommittee,andthecommandcentersothatallinformationrequestsandneedswererespondedtoimmediately.Theuseof3Gphonesprovidedrichnessofmedia.Forexample,3GphoneswereusedtotakepicturesofincidentsorsituationsthatwarrantedattentionanduploadthisdatathroughOCTUStoalertthecommandcentre.OCTUSalso“pushed”informationtothe3Gphones,thus updating the liaison officers on any alternations in situations or events, such aschangesinmeetingvenues.TheChairmanofCIcommented:
The OCTUS system has over 400 3G phones thatwere carried by the delegateliaisonofficers,soeverywheretheygo,theyareabletoconstantlygiveusfeedbackof thehappeningsat the ground, so the committee can get the latestupdate ofwhatishappening.
TheuseofOCTUSandPRSalsoenabledprovisionofhospitalityservicestothedelegatesasalldetailsoftheiraccommodationandtransporthadbeencapturedandtakencareof.The systemsallowed the Singapore government, theprivate sector, andvolunteers toworkseamlesslytogethertoensurethesmoothoperationoftheevent.
Duringthefirst fewdays,therewere incidentssuchasslownessinthenetworkattheregistration counter due to high volume of printing of registration passes. The CIresolved this problem by working closely with the JS to identify the bottleneck andincreasethebandwidthofthenetwork.TherewerealsomanyHelpdeskrequestsfromthedelegates.Mostof thesepertained to theuseof the ITequipmentas thedelegateswere not familiarwith the equipment or needed help to get startedwith theirwork.Afterthefirstfewdays,thenumberofincidentsandHelpdeskrequestsdecreased.
The three phases and their respective main activities and major concerns aresummarized in Figure 2. Additionally, Table 1 shows how the IS requirements weresatisfiedbytheCIthroughpartnershipswithprivateandpublicagenciesaswellasbydevelopingnewISapplications.
23
PlanningPhase PreparationPhase ExecutionPhase
Majoractivities:
Biddingtohostevent
Settingupthecommittees
VisitingtheAnnualMeetings
Gatheringrequirements
Approvingplans/budgets
Majoractivities:
Callingtenders
Managingrequirements
Workingwiththeprivatesector
NegotiatingwiththeJS
Developingapplications
Major activities:
Conductingscenarioexercises
Settingupinfrastructure
Deliveringservices
Monitoringtheevent
Respondingtoincidents
Keyconcerns:
Findingtherightcommitteemembers
Keyconcerns:
ManagingsignificantrequirementsforITequipment
Assetdisposal
Frequently‐changingrequirements
Challengesworkingwithothercommittees
Key concerns:
ShortamountoftimetosetupandteardownITinfrastructure
Last‐minutechangingrequirements
Incidentsduringtheevent
Figure2:Phases,Major Activities andKey Concerns
24
Table1:ISRequirementsandCISolutions
Requirement CISolution(ManagerialandIT)
StayingConnected
ITconnectivity Partnership with Cisco Systems to provide networkinfrastructure. Partnership with Alcatel to provideanaloganddigitalphones
Internalmessaging DevelopmentoftheSESEmailSystem
Businesscenter Set up to provide telecommunications, postal andcourier service for delegates. The services andequipment were made available through partnershipwith Singapore Telecommunications, Singapore Post,DHLandUnitedParcelService.
Wirelessaccess Partnership with IDA’s Wireless@SG program toprovidewirelessaccess
Informationalservices Partnership with local carrier SingTel to provideconnectivityinformationalservices
SituationAwareness
Real‐timeeventmonitoringandresponse
OCTUS was specifically designed for this event. Real‐time event monitoring took place in shifts round theclockduringtheactualevent.
SecurityatAllTimes
Computer security monitoringservice
Partnership with E‐Cop to monitor round‐the‐clockusingsurveillancetechnology
LESSONSLEARNT
S2006servesasanexemplarofharnessing IS to coordinateandmanagea large‐scaleevent. Valuable lessons can be drawn from this experience. While these lessons areapplicable for organizations hostingmega‐scale events, such as sporting competitions(e.g., FIFA World Cup) and political events (e.g., World Economic Forum meetings),some of the lessons may also be useful for other situations that require large‐scalecommunicationandcoordination,suchascrisismanagementordisasterpreparednessandrecovery.Thelessonsaredividedintofiveareas,asdescribedbelow.
Area1:PreparednessandPlanning
WhileplanningmaybecommontolargeITprojectsandplannedevents,preparednessiscriticaltoensurethatplannedeventsproceedsmoothlyandunplannedeventscauseminimal disruptions. Preparedness involves anticipation and response for anyeventuality that may happen, e.g., through contingency plans and emergencypreparedness. “Weaimtobebored”was themottoof theCIChairman. Indeed, theCI
25
wasaspreparedaspossibleinthecircumstances.WhileS2006wasaplannedevent,theCIwasalsopreparedforanyunplannedincidentsthatmayhappenduringtheevent.Alldetails and logistics for the eventwere carefullymapped out. Contingency plans andflowchartswereproposedandapproved.AsnotedbytheCIChairman,theimportanceofpreparednesscannotbeoveremphasized.
Scenario exerciseswere conducted to familiarize all CImemberswith the prescribedproceduresandcontingencyplans.Theexercisesranged fromtable‐topefforts to full‐troop exercises. All members of the CI participated in the scenario exercises, so thateveryonewastrainedandfullypreparedfortherangeofsituations.Duringthescenarioexercises,OCTUSwasusedbytheCIandothercommitteememberstologincidentsandupdatethecommandcentre.Theywerethisfamiliarwithhowtousethesystemsothatthey are not caught off‐guard in times of emergencies. People knewhow they shouldrespondtodifferentcontingenciesandwhotheyshouldcallshouldincidentsoccur.Thecommunications functions were thus well tested before the actual event. The CIanticipated problems in advance and made provisions to resolve these problems.Through this case, we learn various ways of planning to achieve preparedness, i.e.,contingencyplansandscenarioexercises.
Preparednessisalsocriticalforunplannedeventssuchascrisesordisasters.Businesscontinuityanddisasterrecoverystartswithplanningandpreparingfortheunexpected.Ashighlightedinthecase,contingencyplansandscenarioexercisesareessentialforthesmooth operations and use of IS to support large‐scale coordination that is requiredeven during crisis management and disaster recovery. Exercises involving crisissimulations are important for organizational and individual learning (Borodzicz andHaperen, 2002). Disaster response exercises can be used to test procedures andtechnologies and allow personnel to be better prepared (Simmons et al., 2003). Forexample, New Orleans‐based Entergy Corporation was well‐prepared for HurricaneKatrinabecauseof itsdisasterrecoveryplansandthedrillsthat itconducted(Overby,2005).Thedisaster recoveryplanswererevisedand testedonceayearand thedrillsincludedscenariossuchashurricanesfollowedbyflooding.Planningandpreparednessalsoenables theparties involved toquickly setup the required IT infrastructure.ThepreparationstepstakenfortheS2006projectserveasanexampleoftheplanningandpreparedness that is needed to ensure effective large‐scale communication andcoordinationthroughtheuseofIS.
Area2:UseofISforSituationAwareness
Situation awareness requires round‐the‐clock real‐time monitoring of an event. Itinvolvesactivelytrackingthestatusoftheeventsothatanyexceptionalincidentscanbequicklydetectedand resolved. It also includesmaintaining controlof theevent in theabsence of incidents. For large‐scale events such as S2006, real‐timemonitoring and
26
situation awareness are critical due to the large number of attendees, the multiplevenues, various meetings happening concurrently, and high visibility and securityrequirements. In the S2006 project, the development and use of OCTUS for situationawareness and event monitoring proved to be crucial to the smooth running of theentire event. It was instrumental in facilitating situation awareness and problemresolution.Thiswasintegratedwithreal‐timeupdatesthatweresenttothecommandcentre through 3Gmobile phones carried by operational personnel. This allowed theevent organizers to be constantly aware of all aspects ofwhatwas happening on theground.EveryincidentwasloggedinOCTUStoensuretimelyresolution.
While OCTUS was used for the S2006 event monitoring, such a system may also bevaluable for situationawarenessand incidenthandlingduringemergencyresponseorcrisis management. Systems with 3G connectivity can be used for large‐scalecommunication,allowingpeopleon theground tocommunicateandsend informationreal‐time to the control centre, and also for control centre personnel to sendinformation and instructions to people on the ground. In the Gulf oil spill incident,mobile phone softwarewasdeveloped to allow fishermen and emergencyworkers toeasilyinputinformationaboutoilspilleventssuchasdeadwildlifeornewoilsightings(Kimberly, 2010). Technologies such as tele‐presence systems that present live videofeeds(McCurdyetal.,2005),telehealthsystems(Simmonsetal.,2003),andgeographicinformationsystemcoupledwithspatialvideoacquisition(Curtisetal.,2007)canaidinsituation awareness during crisis management. Other technologies such as Web 2.0applications and remote‐sensing systems can also be used to facilitate disastermanagement (Underwood, 2010). Such systems cannot be developed overnight andhave to be designed and built in advance as part of emergency preparedness asdescribed in Area 1. From the S2006 project, we see the importance of carefullyplanning and developing a suitable IS that enables continuous real‐time situationawarenessandmonitoringwithadequatetrainingofusers.
Area3:CultivatingRelationshipsforCommunicationandCoordination
Communication and coordination between multiple stakeholders/participants isnecessary in any large‐scale event, planned or unplanned. IS such as email and videoconferencing software are useful for this purpose especially when the parties aregeographicallyseparated.Cultivatingrelationshipsbetweenthepartiesisalsohelpfulinpromoting effective communication and amicable work arrangements. In the S2006project, the CI had to manage several important relationships for the smoothimplementationoftheevent.TheseincludedrelationshipswithintheCI,therestofIDA,multiplegovernmentagenciesandsub‐committees(refertoTableA intheAppendixAfor the list of agencies), the private sector, the volunteers from the public, andrelationshipswith the JS.Within theCI, the teambuildingeffortsallowedmembers towork closely together towards their objectives. Strong support from IDA seniormanagementalsohelpedtheCItoworkwiththerestoftheorganization,suchasinthe
27
co‐[email protected]‐communicationduringthescenarioexercises,theCImembersgottoknowpeoplefromothergovernmentagenciesintheothersub‐committees.
However,thereweremanyarduousnegotiationswiththevarioussub‐committeesandthe JS. Thus, the relationships had to be handled carefully. Particularly, it waschallengingtomaintaincordialrelationshipswiththeJSbecauseofthephysicaldistanceand because the JS expected the Singapore government to meet all requirements,includingneworchangedrequirements.RegulargroupmeetingswiththeJSusingvideoconferencing helped to ensure clear communication and coordination. When theadvance party from the JS visited Singapore prior to the event, the face‐to‐facediscussionsfacilitatednegotiationsandmakingcompromisesinacordialmanner.Fromthe S2006 event, we see the importance of building relationships with variousstakeholders, such as clients and external constituents, and even within theorganization.
Itisalsoimportanttocultivaterelationshipsbetweenpartieswhoplaydifferentrolesindisaster recovery and crisis management. As described in Area 1, disaster recoveryplans need to be meticulously prepared including assignment of specific roles toindividuals. However, as disasters drills do not happen frequently, the personnel incharge may not meet or see each other regularly. Hence, it is important to organizemeetings, scenario exercises, team building activities, or other events to buildrelationships. For example, a study on crisis management has highlighted theimportance of having frequent exercises to provide opportunities for personnel fromdifferent organizations (such as government, hospital, military, and Red Crossrepresentatives)tointeractanddeveloprelationships(Militelloetal.,2007).Attimesofcrisis, thedifferentpersonnelwill thenbeabletoquicklyandeffectivelycommunicatewith one another. Another case study of crisis management also illustrated theimportanceofdeveloping trustful relationshipswithstakeholdersevenduringday‐to‐dayactivities,toaidinrapidcrisismanagement(Acquieretal.,2008).
Area4:VendorManagement
FordevelopingISforlarge‐scaleeventmanagement,projectsarefrequentlyoutsourcedand equipment obtained from various suppliers. Vendor management is an essentialskilltoensurethesuccessoftheproject.Typically,suchsystemsareuniqueandcannotbeboughtofftheshelf.Hencethesesystemsneedtobedevelopedbyvendorsbasedonspecificrequirementsfromtheorganization.
In the S2006 project, vendor management skills were critical as the CI had to workcloselywithboththeirvendorsaswellaspartnerswhosponsoredtheequipmentandservices. In terms of managing vendors, the S2006 event wasmore challenging than
28
typical ISprojectsbecauseof the tightdeadline given for implementation, set‐up, andtear‐down.TheCI’samicableworkingrelationshipswithvendorsandindustrypartnersensured that thesepartieswereaccommodatingwhen therewereunexpectedor last‐minute changes in requirements. However, the relationships with partners were notalwayssmooth.Assomeof thepartnerswerealso industrycompetitors, theCIhadtomanage the relationships very carefully, without giving any appearance of favoredtreatment or unfair advantage towards any particular partner. The CI was alsoconstantly looking for synergy with vendors and industry partners to meet the ISrequirements.InsteadofpurchasingalltheITequipment,theCIsoughtpartnersintheprivate sector to sponsor someof the equipment. Itwas awin‐win situation for bothparties, as the partners were also eager to showcase their technologies. Indeed, theS2006project indicatesthatmanagementofvendors iscritical tothesuccessof large‐scaleprojectsoreventsandisanimportantsoftskillthatcannotbeneglected.
Management of vendors and business partners is also vital as part of planning andpreparednessforunexpectedevents.Duringtimesofcrisisandemergencies,theremaybeunexpectedandurgentISrequirementswhichcouldbequicklymetthroughexistingpartnerships/relationshipswithexternalorganizations.Maintainingamicableworkingrelationshipsorevenmutualagreementstohelponeanothercanprovetobeessentialduringtimesofcrisis.AsdescribedinearlierresearchonHurricaneKatrina(JunglasandIves,2007),supplierscouldbecriticalteammembersinprovidingessentialequipmentandservicesinthefastesttimepossible.
Area5:ProjectManagementandExpertise
Projectmanagementskillsandexpertiseare important inmanaging large‐scaleeventsandleveragingISforcommunicationandcoordination.Thescaleandcomplexityoftheprojectunder studymeant thatpersonnelmusthave relevantexperienceandpossessthe related expertise. The CI was staffed with experienced personnel havingconsiderableITexpertiseintheirrespectiveareas.SomeofthemembershadexperienceinsettinguptheITinfrastructureforlargeeventssuchastheWorldTradeOrganizationMinisterial Conference. Even though these events were only a fraction of the size ofS2006,theyprovidedinsightstotheremainingCImembers,allowingthemtoanticipateproblems in advance. The previous experience of the CI team also helped them inpreparingthetenderspecificationsandworkingwiththevendors.
Diverseprojectmanagementskillswerealsoessentialbecauseofthecomplexityofthiseventandthesheeramountofcoordinationworkthatwasnecessary.Allteamleadersof the CI were also project managers of their respective areas of responsibility, e.g.,network and IS security. Another key skill requiredwas negotiation capability,whichmanyoftheCImemberswereinitiallyunfamiliarwith,butdevelopedovertime.TheCIhadtonegotiatefrequentlywiththeJStomanagetherequirementsfromtheJS.TheCI
29
also had to negotiatewith the partners from the private sector tomeet the changingrequirementsfromtheJS.TheCIteamleaderinchargeofsponsorshipandpartnershiphadpriorexperiencewithobtainingsponsorshipsfromtheprivatesector,whichhelpedtremendouslywhennegotiatingwiththesecompanies.Theuseofprojectmanagementtools such as a project management information system could be advantageous forindividualandprojectperformance (RaymondandBergeron2008).However,wesawthatintheS2006case,thelateintroductionofthetoolcouldlimitthepotentialimpact.
This case exemplifies the importanceof complementary resources and capabilities. ITexpertise is a necessary core competency, but it has to be complementedwith othercapabilities such as projectmanagement and vendormanagement skills (described inArea4),andevennegotiationskills.IntimesofusingIStomanageandcoordinatecrises,projectmanagementskillsareevenmoreimportant,asdecisionsoftenhavetobemadefastandbequicklyexecuted.ThisisalsohighlightedinacaseofcrisismanagementinwhichtheSingaporegovernmenthadtoactswiftlyintheirdecisionsrelatingtotheuseofe‐governmentinfrastructureandresourcestocombatSARS(Panetal.,2005).
FRAMEWORKOFISFORLARGE‐SCALEEVENTMANAGEMENT
WesummarizethekeylessonslearntfromthisstudyinaframeworkofISforlarge‐scaleevent management (see Figure 3). The framework is divided into three stages, i.e.,planning,preparedness,andeventmanagement.WhiletheplanningandpreparednessphasesinS2006correspondtotheplanningandpreparednessstagesintheframeworkrespectively,theexecutionphaseinS2006spansacrossthepreparednessandtheeventmanagementstages(seeFigure2).
As discussed in Area 1, preparedness is critical in harnessing IS for large‐scalecommunication, coordination, and event management. In order to achievepreparedness, there must be planning done in advance. The main activity duringplanningisthegatheringofrequirements.InthecaseofS2006asinmanyotherlarge‐scaleevents,thekeyrequirementsforITwerestayingconnected,situationawareness,and security at all times. Budgeting is also necessary to prioritize the requirementsaccordingtotheavailableresources.
PreparednessinvolvesassessingexistingITinfrastructureforsuitabilityofdeployment.For example, in the target case, the existing IT infrastructure of Wireless@SG wasdeemed to be suitable for the event use. It also involves development of new IS (e.g.,OCTUSforS2006)wheretheexistingsystemsdonotmeetalltherequirementsthataregathered during planning. The case also highlights the importance of cultivating
30
relationshipsforcommunicationandcoordination(Area3),vendormanagement(Area4), and project management and expertise (Area 5) for new IS development. Otheractivities such as scenario exercises and contingency plans are also necessary forpreparedness.
Withtheplanningandpreparednessdescribedabove,thissetsthestagefortheactualeventmanagement.Duringtheactualevent,theuseofISforsituationawarenessgreatlyassistsintheseamlessmanagementoftheevent(Area2).Otherrequirements,suchasstaying connectedandsecurityat all times, couldbeachievedduring theactual eventbasedontheplanningandpreparationthathavealreadytakenplace.
Figure3:FrameworkofISforLarge‐ScaleEventManagement
DISCUSSIONANDCONTRIBUTIONS
Throughthisstudy,wewereabletoobtainabetterunderstandingof theuseof IS forlarge‐scaleeventmanagement.Asdescribed in the literature review,weobserved thesalienceofpeoplecharacteristicsinmanagingsuchalarge‐scaleproject.Teammembersrequiredbothuserknowledgeandprojectexpertisetosuccessfullydevelopanddeploysuch systems. Our study also confirms the importance of IT project manager skillrequirements such as client management, communication and team development. Inaddition, prior experience in managing such events along with soft skills of vendormanagementandnegotiationskillswerefoundcriticalforthesuccessoftheprojectandtheevent.
Preparedness
Planning
Requirements Gathering
Development of new IS
Cultivating relationships
Vendor management
Project management and expertise
Contingency plans and scenario exercises
Event Management
Staying connected
Use of IS for situation awareness
Security at all
Assessment and deployment of existing IT
31
In terms of IS development processes the literature review identified requirementsdetermination, project management methods, and user participation and training assalientsuccessfactorsforlarge‐scaleprojects.Indeed,theprojectunderstudyexhibitedsignificantchallenges in termsofchangingandescalatingrequirementsthroughout itsduration. This study not only highlights this challenge but additionally suggestssolutionsintermsofnegotiationandbufferingtoalleviatetheproblem.Anotherfindingfrom the literature reviewwas the need for projectmanagementmethods tomanagesuchlarge‐scaleprojects.Further,whileuserparticipationandtrainingarefoundsalientforproject success in this caseaswell, this studyadds to the literatureby identifyingspecificmethodssuchasscenariosexercisesforthispurposeanddescribinghowtheycanbeconductedeffectively.
Regarding project content, our literature review highlighted issues related to projectcharacteristics,resources,andtechnologysupportthatmustbeaddressedinlarge‐scaleprojects.Specifically,projectcomplexityanduncertaintycreatedchallengesinthisstudyaswell.Additionally,ourstudy identifiedvariousmeasures forhandlingcomplexity insuchprojects.First,carefulplanning,budgeting,andcoordinationwerefoundeffectiveinreducinguncertaintyintheprojectunderstudy.Second,priorexperienceassistedtheteam to anticipate problems in advance and resolve issues swiftly. Further, amicablerelationshipsbetweendifferentstakeholderswerefosteredthroughteam‐buildingandscenarioexerciseswhereallgroupsparticipated.Thisenabledtheentireprojectteamtorespond to challenges in a concerted and effective way. For project managementtechnologysupport,theWBRSsystemprovedusefulbuttheEPMSwasintroducedtoolate.Thus, it is important todeploysuchsystems ina timelymannerto leveragetheirbenefits. In termsofhandlingthepaucityofresources, thisstudysuggestsnovelwaysfor mitigating this issue through seeking synergy and sponsorships from externalpartiesandvendors.
Last, our literature review had identified issues related to organizational culture,historical background, and environmental conditions that impact IS project success.Specifically,thisstudyaddstotheliteraturebyshowinghowproactivemeasuresbytheproject leader (CI Chairman in this case) could be effective in bridging differencesbetween stakeholders from different organizational cultures and backgrounds. Theteam building exercises that involved 26 different public agencies and other partieswere able to foster cooperationwithin theCI. Further, the environmental context i.e.,nationalobjectivesinthiscase,werekeptinmindintheplanninganddevelopmentofthe project under study. This allowed for considerable synergies to be obtained byleveragingotherIT infrastructure initiativesof thegovernmenttoachievethegoalsofthisproject.
Overall,intermsoflessonslearned,whiletheroleofplanningandpreparednessisnotanewlesson,thiscasehighlightstheimportanceofstrategiessuchascontingencyplans
32
andscenarioexercises.Thesearenottypicallyseeninmanagementofsoftwareprojects,butarecriticalineventmanagement.Theneedtomaintainsituationawarenessisalsonecessaryanduniquetothemanagementof large‐scaleevents,whichcanbeachievedthroughtheuseofsystemssuchasOCTUS.Thus,inadditiontoextendingtheISprojectliterature, this studyhas contributed specifically to IS research in eventmanagement,whichhasseenlimitedpreviouswork(RaiandSambamurthy,2006).
Limitations
The findings of this study should be interpreted in light of its limitations. While theS2006 case can serve as an exemplar for the use of IS for large‐scale eventsmanagement,cautionneedstobeexercisedinattemptingtoextendthefindingstoothercontexts and settings. Particularly, we have outlined how some aspects of the studyfindings could be useful for developing IS for unplanned events in the lessons learntsection.However,thereareotheruniquecharacteristicsofunplannedeventsintermsoftheir uncertainty and consequences that warrant separate study. For instance,unplanned events such as natural disasters may require additional designconsiderations of flexibility for unanticipated requirements, public responsemanagement, and the consequences. Thus, further research is needed to examine theextent to which the proposed framework is applicable to develop and deploy IS formanaginglarge‐scaleunplannedevents.
CONCLUSION
ThispaperdescribesacaseofharnessingISforthecoordinationandmanagementofalarge‐scaleevent,theS2006project.Itoutlinesthecomplexrequirementsanddauntingchallengesinmanaginglarge‐scalecommunicationandcoordinationnecessaryforsuchan event. The requirements for IS included provision of continuous and seamlessconnectivity and computer security at all times for participants. For the organizers,systems had to be developed to provide round the clock situation awareness andpreparedness. Additional challenges stemmed from managing continuously changingrequirements from multiple stakeholders, the non‐negotiable deadlines and limitedtime‐frameforISprovisionanddeploymentfortheevent.
ThepaperdescribeshowtheCommittee inchargedelivered the IT infrastructureandservices for this large‐scale international event. It derives several lessons for ITexecutivesresponsibleformanagingsuchplannedevents.First,itemphasizestheneedforpreparednessandplanninginexecutingsuchprojects.Second,ithighlightstheuseof IS to maintain situation awareness. Third, it suggests how relationships can be
33
cultivated among multiple parties to promote effective communication andcoordination. Fourth, it emphasizes the importance of vendor management andpartnershipswiththeindustry.Fifth,itindicatesthesalientroleofexperienceandskills(includingnegotiation)inITprojectmanagementforsuchlarge‐scaleprojects.
The S2006 experience in using IS is valuable for large‐scale projects which involvecomplex coordination amongmultiple stakeholders and dynamic requirements undernon‐negotiabledeadlines.Thelessonsandexperiencesthatwereaccumulatedthroughthe event can be applied for communication and coordination for future large‐scaleplanned events and to some extent for advance preparation for disasters and crisismanagement.Theexperiencesinmanaging,developing,anddeployingIScouldalsobeusefulforotherGovernmentsandcompaniesresponsiblefortheorganizationofmega‐scaleevents.
34
REFERENCES
Acquier, A., Gand, S. and Szpirglas, M. (2008). “From Stakeholder to StakeholderManagementinCrisisEpisodes:ACaseStudyinaPublicTransportationCompany,”JournalofContingenciesandCrisisManagement,16(2),pp.101‐114.
Bechor, T., Neumann, S., Zviran, M. and Glezer, C. (2010). “A Contingency Model forEstimating Success of Strategic Information Systems Planning,” Information &Management,47,pp.17‐29.
Biehl, M. (2007). “Success Factors for Implementing Global Information Systems,”CommunicationsoftheACM,50(1),pp.53‐58.
Borodzicz, E. and Haperen, K. (2002). “Individual and Group Learning in CrisisSimulations,”JournalofContingenciesandCrisisManagement,10(3),pp.139‐147.
Chen, R., Sharman, R., Rao, H.R. and Upadhyaya, S.J. (2007). “Emergency ResponseCoordinationandITsupport:ContingencyandStrategies,”TheAmericasConferencesonInformationSystems,Keystone,CO.
Curtis, A., Mills, J.W., Kennedy, B., Fotheringham, S. and McCarthy, T. (2007).“UnderstandingtheGeographyofPost‐TraumaticStress:AnAcademic JustificationforUsingaSpatialVideoAcquisitionSystemintheResponsetoHurricaneKatrina,”JournalofContingenciesandCrisisManagement,15(4),pp.208‐219.
Dillon, S., Taylor, H. and Rodriguez‐Jolly, G. (2011). “The Identification of IT ProjectManagerCompetencies:AGroundedTheoryApproach,”ThePacificAsiaConferenceonInformationSystems,Paper54.
Goles, T., White, G.B. and Dietrich, G. (2005). “Dark Screen: An Exercise in CyberSecurity,”MISQuarterlyExecutive,4(2),pp.303‐318.
Gowan, J.A. andMathieu,R.G. (2005). “The ImportanceofManagementPractices in ISProjectPerformance,”TheJournalofEnterpriseInformationManagement,18(2),pp.235‐255.
Hart,S.(2010).“HowWouldYouPlugtheGulfOilSpill?SantaRosaSocialNetworkingStartupDemocrasoftWantsYourIdeas,”ThePressDemocrat,Washington, June29,2010.
Hartman,F.andAshrafi,R.A.(2002).“ProjectManagementintheInformationSystemsandInformationTechnologiesIndustries,”ProjectManagementJournal,33(3),pp.5‐15.
He, J. andKing,W.R. (2008). “Information SystemsDevelopment: Implications from aMeta‐Analysis,”JournalofManagementInformationSystems,25(1),pp.301‐331.
Irani,Z.,Sharif,A.M.andLove,P.E.D.(2001).“TransformingFailureintoSuccessthroughOrganisational Learning: An Analysis of a Manufacturing Information System,”EuropeanJournalofInformationSystems,10,pp.55‐66.
Johnson,J.,Boucher,K.D.,Connors,K.andRobinson,J.(2001).“TheCriteriaforSuccess,”SoftwareMagazine,21(1),S3‐S11.
35
Junglas, I. and Ives, B. (2007). “Recovering IT in a Disaster: Lessons from HurricaneKatrina,”MISQuarterlyExecutive,6(1),pp.39‐51.
Kautz,K.,Hansen,B. and Jacobsen,D. (2004). “TheUtilizationof Information SystemsDevelopment Methodologies in Practice,” Journal of Information Technology CasesandApplications,6(4),pp.1‐20
Kearns, G.S. (2006). “The Effect of Top Management Support of SISP on Strategic ISManagement:InsightsfromtheUSElectricPowerIndustry,”Omega,34(3),pp.263‐253.
Kim, C.S. and Peterson, D.K. (2003). “A Comparison of the Perceived Importance ofInformationSystemsDevelopmentStrategiesbyDevelopersfromtheUnitedStatesandKorea,”InformationResourcesManagementJournal,16(1),pp.1‐18.
Kimberly, M. (2010). “West Palm Man’s Cellphone Technology Helps Track Oil SpillWoes,”TribuneBusinessNews,Washington,May25,2010.
Kirsch, L.J. (2000). “Software Project Management: An Integrated Perspective for anEmerging Paradigm, in R. Zmud (ed), Framing the Domains of IT Management:Projecting theFutureThrough thePast, Pinnaflex Educational Resources, pp. 285‐304.
Klein,H.K.andMyers,M.D. (1999). “ASetofPrinciples forConductingandEvaluatingInterpretiveFieldStudiesinInformationSystems,”MISQuarterly,23(1),pp.67‐93.
Ko,D.‐G.,Kirsch,L.J. andKing,W.R. (2005). “AntecedentsofKnowledgeTransfer fromConsultantstoClientsinEnterpriseSystemImplementations,”MISQuarterly,29(1),pp.59‐85.
Kovaleski,D.(2011).“TheBigNewsaboutMeetings,”AssociationMeetings,April2011,pp.14‐21.
Lederer,A.L.andSethi,V.(2003).“TheInformationSystemsPlanningProcess:MeetingtheChallengesofInformationSystemsPlanning,” inGalliers,R.D.,andLeidner,D.E.(eds) Strategic Information Management: Challenges and Strategies in ManagingInformationSystems,thirdedition,Butterworth‐Heinemann.
Lee,M.J.andBack,K.‐J.(2005).“AReviewofEconomicValueDriversinConventionandMeetingManagement Research,” International JournalofContemporaryHospitalityManagement,17(5),pp.409‐420.
Levina N. and Su, N. (2008). “Global Multisourcing Strategy: The Emergence of aSupplierPortfolioinServicesOffshoring,”DecisionSciences,39(3),pp.541‐570.
Manoj, B.S. and Baker, A.H. (2007). “Communication Challenges in EmergencyResponse,”CommunicationsoftheACM,50(3),pp.51‐53.
McCurdy, N.J., Griswold,W.G. and Lenert, L.A. (2005). “RealityFlyThrough: EnhancingSituationalAwareness forMedicalResponse toDisastersUsingUbiquitousVideo,”ProceedingsofAmericanMedicalInformaticsAssociation,Washington,D.C.,2005,pp.510‐514.
36
McLeod, L. and MacDonell, S.G. (2011). “Factors that Affect Software SystemsDevelopment Project Outcomes: A Survey of Research,” ACM Computing Surveys,43(4),pp.24‐56
Militello, L.G., Patterson, E.S., Bowman, L. and Wears, R. (2007). “Information FlowduringCrisisManagement:ChallengestoCoordinationintheEmergencyOperationsCenter,”Cognition,TechnologyandWork,9(1),pp.25‐31.
Napier, N.P., Keil, M. and Tan, F.B. (2009). “IT Project Managers’ Construction ofSuccessful Project Management Practice: A Repertory Grid Investigation,”InformationSystemsJournal,19(3),pp.255‐282.
Ovaska,P.,Rossi,M.andSmolander,K.(2005).“Filtering,NegotiatingandShiftingintheUnderstanding of Information System Requirements,” Scandinavian Journal ofInformationSystems,17(1),pp.31‐66.
Overby,S.(2005).“LessonsfromHurricaneKatrina:ItPaystohaveaDisasterRecoveryPlaninplace,”CIO,15September2005Retrievedfrom
http://www.cio.com/article/11931/Lessons_from_Hurricane_Katrina_It_Pays_to_Have_a_Disaster_Recovery_Plan_in_Placeon21February2011.
Pan, S.L., Pan, G. and Devadoss, P.R. (2005). “E‐Government Capabilities and CrisisManagement:LessonsfromCombatingSARSinSingapore,”MISQuarterlyExecutive,4(4),pp.385‐397.
Pee, L.G., Kankanhalli, A. and Kim, H.‐W. (2010). “Knowledge Sharing in InformationSystems Development: A Social Interdependence Perspective,” Journal of theAssociationforInformationSystems,11(10),pp.550‐575.
Project Management Institute (2008). A Guide to the Project Management Body ofKnowledge,4thedition,ProjectManagementInstitute.
Rai, A. and Sambamurthy, V. (2006). “Editorial notes – The Growth of Interest inServicesManagement:OpportunitiesforInformationSystemsScholars,InformationSystemsResearch,17(4),pp.327‐331.
Raymond, L. and Bergeron, F. (2008). “Project Management Information Systems: AnEmpirical Study of Their Impact on Project Managers and Project Success,”InternationalJournalofProjectManagement,26(2),pp.213‐220.
Reddy, M.C., Sharoda, A.P., Abraham, J., McNeese, M., DeFlitch, C. and Yen, J. (2009).“ChallengestoEffectiveCrisisManagement:UsingInformationandCommunicationTechnologies to Coordinate Emergency Medical Services and EmergencyDepartmentTeams,InternationalJournalofMedicalInformatics,78,pp.259‐269.
Ritter,J.,Lyons,J.B.andSwindler,S.D.(2007).“Large‐ScaleCoordination:DevelopingaFramework to Evaluate Socio‐Technical and Collaborative Issues,” Cognition,TechnologyandWork,9(1),pp.33‐38.
Shone,A.andParry,B.(2010).SuccessfulEventManagement:APracticalHandbook,3rdedition,CengageLearningEMEA.
37
Simmons, S.C., Murphy, T.A., Blanarovich, A., Workman, F.T., Rosenthal, D.A. andCarbone, M. (2003). “Telehealth Technologies and Applications for TerrorismResponse: A Report of the 2002 Coastal North Carolina Domestic PreparednessTrainingExercise,” Journalof theAmericanMedical InformaticsAssociation, 10,pp.166‐176.
Skok,W.andLegge,M.(2002).“EvaluatingEnterpriseResourcePlanning(ERP)SystemsUsinganInterpretiveApproach,”KnowledgeandProcessManagement,9(2),pp.72‐82.
The Economic Times (2010). “Mahindra Satyam Driving FIFA World Cup's SoftwareNetwork,”TheEconomicTimes,June11,2010Retrievedfrom
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6037982.cms?prtpage=1 on 17February2011.
Thomas,J.andMengel,T.(2008).“PreparingProjectManagerstoDealwithComplexity– Advanced Project Management Education,” International Journal of ProjectManagement,26,pp.304‐315.
ThomsonReuters(2010).“ThomsonReutersHelpsPoisonControlCentersandtheCDCMonitorToxicExposuretoGulfofMexicoOilSpill,”PRNewswire,NewYork,May25,2010.
Underwood,S.(2010).“ImprovingDisasterManagement,”CommunicationsoftheACM,53(2),pp.18‐20.
Walsham, G. (2006). “Doing Interpretive Research,” European Journal of InformationSystems,15,pp.320‐330.
World Economic Forum (2010‐11). The Global Information Technology Report 2010‐2011,Retrievedfromhttp://www.weforum.org/reportson17February2011.
Yin,R.K. (2008).CaseStudyResearch:DesignandMethods,4thedition.ThousandOaks,California:SagePublications.
38
ABOUTTHEAUTHORS
Dr.Boon‐YuenNgwasasenior lecturer intheDepartmentof InformationSystemsattheNationalUniversity of Singapore (NUS). She receivedherB.S. (HighestHonors) inComputer Science fromUniversity of California atBerkeley,M.S. in Computer SciencefromtheUniversityof IllinoisatUrbana‐Champaign,andPh.D. inInformationSystemsfromtheNationalUniversityofSingapore.Dr.Ng’sresearchinterestsincludeITimpactin organizations, healthcare information systems, and information securitymanagement.HerworkhadappearedinpremiumjournalssuchasInternationalJournalof Human‐Computer Studies and Decision Support Systems. Her research had beenpresented at leading conferences such as International Conference on InformationSystemsandEuropeanConferenceonInformationSystems.
Dr.AtreyiKankanhalli isAssociateProfessor in theDept. of Information Systems attheNationalUniversityofSingapore(NUS).SheservesastheCoordinatoroftheServiceSystemsInnovationResearchLaboratoryatNUS.Dr.Kankanhalliconductsresearch intheareasofknowledgemanagement,ITinnovationadoptionandchangemanagement,andIT‐enabledinnovationinservicesectors(e.g.,Government,Healthcare)witharangeoforganizationssponsoredbygovernmentandindustrygrants.HerworkhasappearedinleadingjournalsincludingMISQuarterly,InformationSystemsResearch,andJournalofManagement Information Systems. Dr. Kankanhalli serves (or has served) on theeditorialboardsofMISQuarterly,InformationSystemsResearch,andIEEETransactionsonEngineeringManagement.She is a recipientof the IBMFacultyAwardand the IBMSmarter Planet Industry Skills Innovation Award among others. She has been listedamongtheleadingISresearchersglobally.
39
APPENDIXA:ORGANIZATIONSTRUCTUREANDROLESOFCOMMITTEES
The S2006 Steering Committee was set up to provide directions for the OrganizingCommitteeandconsistedofPermanentSecretarieswhoseagencieswereexpectedtobeactivelyinvolvedinthepreparation.ItsetpoliciesandapprovedmajorplanstoensurethesuccessfulhostingoftheAnnualMeetings.TheOrganizingCommitteewasinchargeof the execution of plans in accordance with the policy framework and directivesdetermined by the Steering Committee. It also identified and acquired the resourcesrequiredfromacrossthepublicsectorandnationwideforhostingtheevent.TheothermembersoftheOrganizingCommitteeweretheChairpersonsofthetensub‐committees(seeFigureA).TheOrganizingSecretariatprovidedsupporttotheongoingactivitiesofthe Steering and Organizing Committees. Besides linking up with JS, the OrganizingSecretariatwasalso thekeycontactpoint forco‐ordinationof issues involving twoormoresub‐committeestoensurethatplanninginitiativesarewell‐coordinated.Therolesof the ten sub‐committees, as well as the lead and supporting agencies, are listed inTableA.
FigureA:OrganizationStructureoftheS2006OrganizingCommittee
S2006SteeringCommittee
S2006OrganizingCommittee
S2006OrganizingSecretariat
Media&Communication
Taskforce
SingaporeExperienceTaskforce
Accommodation&Hospitality
CommunicationsInfrastructure
Conference&Facility
Finance&Procurement
MedicalServices
CivilSocietyOrganization
BusinessEvents&Marketing
Protocol
Security
TransportSupport
40
41
TableA.TheS2006Sub‐committeesandTaskforces
Committee Role Agencies2
Media&CommunicationTaskforce
ItoverseesmediaandcommunicationactivitiestopromoteSingaporeandS2006.ItsareasofresponsibilityareMediaManagement,Publicity,CollateralandCrisisCommunications.
MICA
SingaporeExperienceTaskforce
ItcreatesauniquelySingaporeexperienceforallinternationalvisitorsatalltouchpoints.ItalsooverseesthevariousprogramstopromoteSingaporeasavibranttouristdestinationandahospitablenation.
STB
AccommodationandHospitality
Itmanagestheaccommodationneedsandorganizesthesocialeventsforthemeetingparticipants.
STB
BusinessEventsandMarketing
Itworkswiththepublicandprivatesectorpartnerstodevelopprogramsandplatformstofacilitatebusinessandnetworkingopportunitiesforcompanies,andprofilesSingaporeasaninternationalfinancialcentre.Italsooverseescontentdevelopment,marketingprogramsandotherlead‐upactivitiesforthevariousseminars.
MAS,MICA,EDB,IES,MOF,MTI,STB
CivilSocietyOrganization
ItworkscloselywiththeJSonallmattersconcerningCSO’sparticipationintheAnnualMeetings.
MFA,MICA,ICA,SPF
CommunicationsInfrastructure3
Itoversees,managesandcoordinatestheISrequirementsfortheAnnualMeetings.
IDA
ConferenceandFacility
Itoversees,managesandcoordinatesarrangementstoensurethattheconferencevenuefacilitiesmeetalltherequirementsoftheJS.ItalsoimplementsandmanagestheconferenceprogramtogetherwiththeJS.
MOF,MAS,MINDEFURA,EMA,BCA,HDB,NEA,STB,MINDEF,NParks
FinanceandProcurement
Itoverseesandmanagestheapprovedoverallbudget,drawsuptheoperationalguidanceandmonitorsthefinancialprocedures.
MOF,MAS,PSD
MedicalServices ItadvisesthePlanningCommitteeonmedicalandhealthmatters.
MOH,SCDF
Protocol
Itoverseesandmanagesallmattersrelatingtoprotocolandensurethatalldelegatesareaccordedappropriatelevelofprotocol.
MFA
Security Itoversees,managesandcoordinateswithrelevantagenciestomeetthesecurity
SPF,HSA,MHA,MINDEF,NEA,PUB,
2Leadagenciesareinbold.
3ThispaperisbasedontheworkoftheCommunicationsInfrastructuresub‐committee(CI).
42
requirementsoftheAnnualMeetings. SCDF,ICA
TransportSupport ItoverseesandmakestransportarrangementfortheAnnualMeetings.
MINDEF,LTA,CAAS
Legend:
BCA ‐BuildingandConstructionAuthorityCAAS ‐CivilAviationAuthorityofSingaporeEDB ‐EconomicDevelopmentBoardEMA ‐EnergyMarketAuthorityHDB ‐HousingandDevelopmentBoardHSA ‐HealthScienceAuthorityICA ‐ImmigrationandCheckpointsAuthority
IDA ‐InfocommDevelopmentAuthorityofSingapore
IES ‐InternationalEnterpriseSingaporeLTA ‐LandTransportAuthorityMAS ‐MonetaryAuthorityofSingaporeMFA ‐MinistryofForeignAffairsMHA ‐MinistryofHomeAffairs
MICA ‐MinistryofInformation,Communication&theArts
MINDEF ‐MinistryofDefenceMOF ‐MinistryofFinanceMOH ‐MinistryofHealthMTI ‐MinistryofTradeandIndustryNEA ‐NationalEnvironmentalAgencyNPARKS ‐NationalParksPSD ‐PublicServiceDivisionPUB ‐PublicUtilitiesBoardSCDF ‐SingaporeCivilDefenceForceSPF ‐SingaporePoliceForceSTB ‐SingaporeTourismBoardURA ‐UrbanDevelopmentAuthority
43
APPENDIXB:INTERVIEWPROTOCOL
The following isanoverviewofthe interviewquestionsusedbytheresearchers.Theactual interviewquestionsmayvaryslightlyaccording to the interviewee’sroleandhis/herresponses.
A. General
A1. DescribeyourrolesandresponsibilitiesintheCI.
A2. HowlongwereyouintheCI?
B. PlanningPhase
B1. DescribetheplanningprocessthatwasundertakenfortheCI’swork(foryourinvolvement).Whatneedstobedone?Howlongwasthisphase?Whatarethemajormilestones?Weretheymetontime?
B2. Whowerethepeopleinvolvedintheplanningprocess?Wereexternalparties(e.g.othergovtagencies, consultants,overseascounterparts) involved?Howweretheyinvolved?
B3. Howwastheseniormanagementinvolvedintheplanningprocess?Whoweretheseniormanagementinvolved?
B4. DescribetheprocessthatwasinvolvedinobtainingfundingfortheCI’swork.Werethedeliverablesaccomplishedwithinbudget?Whyandwhynot?
B5. Didanythingunusualorunexpectedhappenduringtheplanningphase?Howdidyouresolveit?
B6. Whatweretheconstraintsandchallengesexperiencedduringthisphaseandhowwerethesesurmounted?
C. PreparationPhase
C1. Describethepreparationprocessthatwasundertaken fortheCI’swork(foryourinvolvement).Whatneededtobedone?Howlongwasthisphase?Whatarethemajormilestones?Weretheymetontime?
C2. Who were the people involved in the preparation process? Were externalparties (e.g. other govt agencies, consultants, overseas counterparts)involved?Howweretheyinvolved?
C3. Howwas thecoordinationandcommunicationpreformedwith the involvedparties? What were the channels? Did you use anycommunication/collaborationtoolsandtechnologies?
C4. Howwas theseniormanagement involved in thepreparationprocess?Whoweretheseniormanagementinvolved?
44
C5. Was any part of the preparation outsourced? What were the reasons foroutsourcing? Describe the outsourcing process. Were there anyissues/challenges?
C6. Whatweretheresponsibilitiesofthevendors?HowdidtheCIensurethatthevendors are delivering the products/services as expected? How closely didyouworkwiththevendors?
C7. Did anything unusual or unexpected happen during the preparation phase?Howdidyouresolveit?
C8. Werethereanypreviousexperienceswithpreparationforsimilareventssuchas S2006? How did the presence/absence of this prior experience help orimpair theplanningandpreparationof theCI forS2006? In the casewheretherewasanabsenceofpriorexperience,howwasthisaddressed?
C9. Whatweretheconstraintsandchallengesexperiencedduringthisphaseandhowwerethesesurmounted?
C10. Whatwerethekeyfactors/issuesthatyouthinkcontributedtothesuccessfulcompletion of planning and preparation for the CI? How were thesedemonstrated?
C11. Whoarethe“users”?Wheredotheuserrequirementscomefrom?Howweretheysatisfied?
D. InformationTechnology
D1. DescribethemainhighlightsoftheITusedforS2006.
D2. WhatweretheapplicationsthatweredevelopedforS2006?WhatITplatformweretheybuilton?Describethedevelopmentprocess.
D3. Were there any principles and guidelines that need to be adhered to in thedevelopmentoftheS2006applications?Whatarethese?
D4. WhatwasthefundingmodelusedfortheIT?Whatwerethereasonsforthismodel?
D5. One of the keywords in the press release is the “seamless” technologyexperience?Howdidthisideacomeabout?Whatdoesthismean?HowdidtheCIdeliversuchaseamlessexperience?
E. ExecutionPhase
E1. Describetheexecutionphaseandyourinvolvement.Whatneededtobedone?Howlongwasthisphase?Whatarethemajormilestones?Weretheymetontime?
E2. Whatwasyourroleandresponsibilityduringtheactualevent?
E3. Whatwere the logistics arrangement (e.g. set‐up of physical infrastructure,ensure sponsors bring in the equipment) that took place in preparation forS2006?Describetheprocessofthesearrangements.
45
E4. DidtheCIhavetoconductanytraining?Whatwasthetrainingfor?Whatwasthetargetaudience?Howdidyouthinkthetrainingwent?
E5. WhatkindofeventcoordinationandmonitoringneededtobedonebytheCI?
E6. Whatweretheconstraintsandchallengesexperiencedduring theeventandhowwerethesesurmounted?
E7. Anyunexpectedhiccupsduringtheeventandhowwasthatresolved?
F. AfterS2006
F1. Whatneededtobedoneafterthecompletionof theevent?Howdid itworkout?
F2. Wasthereanyfeedbackmechanisminplacetoevaluatehowtheeventwent?
F3. On hindsight, was there anything that could be done differently during thethreephases?
F4. Whatwerethekeyfactors/issuesthatcontributedtothesuccess(orthelackofit)ofyourteam’swork?Howwerethesedemonstrated?
F5. WhatdoyouthinkareimportantresourcesthatenabledtheCItosupportthisevent?
F6. Whatdoyou thinkare importantcapabilities thatenabled theCI tosupportthisevent?
F7. Whatarethemajorlessonslearntthroughthisevent?
F8. What advice would you give to other organizations which have to supportsimilarevents?
