Information System Planning and Change Management

Inam ul HaqLecturer in Computer ScienceUniversity of Education Okara CampusInam.bth@gmail.com, organizer@dfd-charity.com

Benefits of IS Planning (1)

Benefits of IS Planning (2)

Effective Management of an Expensive and Critical Asset to the Organization

• Does management know how much money the company is spending on IS?

• Do managers realize how much each business application is costing?• Is IS worth maintaining? Do they know the cost per e-mail, the cost per

help desk call, and the cost per server? • What is the company really getting for its investment, and will the

systems meet the company’s needs in the future? Do managers know the level of service quality and responsiveness that IS delivers? Do they know how to manage IS costs through demand planning, capacity and resource planning, and monitoring as they would any other asset?

• Management must have a clear understanding of the IS environment to manage this asset as effectively as it would any other business asset.

Improving Communication and the Relationship between the Business and IS Organization

• Following this IS planning process will significantly improve communication between business management and the IS department.

• Business management will obtain an excellent understanding of current IS, as well as as learn how to identify risks and opportunities.

• The IS organization will gain a greater understanding of the business direction and be able to identify how technology can assist with the company’s objectives.

Aligning the IS Direction and Priorities to the Business Direction and Priorities

Identifying Opportunities to Use Technology for a Competitive Advantage and Increase the Value to the Business

• Today, technology is integrated into every aspect of a business, business processes, and business interfaces.

• To ensure IS provides a competitive advantage, a robust planning• process is required in which the IS department is a true business

partner and identifies business opportunities using technology.• For example, an insurance company found that the cost of• a transaction handled in person by an agent could cost $5 to $13,

and a fully automated transaction on the Web costs only three to six cents, which can provide a tremendous competitive advantage.

Planning the Flow of Information and Processes

• Information is a valuable resource, and it is important to maximize its value for the corporation.

• Planning and managing the flow of information throughout the organization can minimize labor, data redundancy, and inconsistency, in addition to increasing the quality and accuracy of the information.

• When systems grow haphazardly over time, islands of information can develop, resulting in additional labor to maintain the different systems.

Efficiently and Effectively Allocating Information Systems Resources

Reducing the Effort and Money Required Throughout the Life Cycle of Systems

The approval step also consumes a large amount of time, because costs are generally more than management anticipates. Management starts asking questions such as, “Do we really need it?” “Are there less expensive alternatives?” “What are the real benefits to be gained?” Implementation takes longer than anticipated because it is an inefficiently planned execution, business process changes, or priorities are not clear.

Bonus Assignment• Group of students may choose an IS for Planning in real time

environment.• Discuss with teacher for detail• Marks = 4• Deadline = 20 days

Change Management (1)• According to research conducted by Standish Group, as many as

40% of information system development and implementation projects fail to complete.

Change Management (2)• As changes are difficult to predict, and tend to occur with growing

frequency, change management is becoming an increasingly significant subject.

• Regardless of how a new information system is designed and how its implementation is planned, human potential represents a factor that should play the key role in dealing with changes.

• It also encounters resistance of the staff to the changes, because project managers did not foresee staff's response to the changes occurring under the influence of the new system.

• The dominant activity of the large-scale software industry is the production of changes to application systems. Most changes are due to enhancements in functionality.

Change Management (3)• Due to rigid structure in existing systems and inadequate methods

and tools for change management, implementing necessary changes consequent on new user requirements are often impossible within reasonable costs.

• The classical model for describing the software development process is the so-called waterfall model. New requirements must be determined, the existing software application needs re-design

References• A Practical Guide to Information Systems Strategic Planning, Tylor and

Francis Group• Change Management in IS Development & Implementation, by Zoran Ćirić

and Lazar Raković• Managing change in IS: Technological Challenges, Dag I.K. Sjøberg,

University of Oslo, Norway