Management Information System Lecture 10

System Success and Failure: Implementation

Lecture Objective:
In this lecture we'll try to discover why information systems have bad reputation in some business circles and how you can help prevent such problems in an organization.

Information System Failure

The MIS literature states that up to 75 percent of large systems may be considered failures because: They don't give the users the functionality they expected or They were too costly. How organizations are covering the deficiencies? Many organizations end up using a Band-Aid approach in these situations, which costs more time and money. They have to develop manual ways to get around the deficiencies in the system or spend extra time and money to correct the problems.

Information Systems Problem Areas

Information Systems Problem Areas

Design
Rule: Information System must mesh with the business plan and support it, not conflict with or ignore it Violation: In design phase this important rule is sometimes forgotten to put required attention Rule: A successful system must be designed from the user's viewpoint. User is more concerned with the logical view of data Violation: User interfaces are designed by the technical people from a physical view rather it should be designed from logical view. When that happens, the interface can be useless to the user

Information Systems Problem Areas

Data
Rule: Data developed by separate organizational entities should be structured differently. The structure of an address in Marketing may be totally different from an address developed by Manufacturing. Violation: When the data from both areas are brought into a new system, the users find them incompatible with their needs. If the data take on new and different meanings, users may use them wrongly or ignore them altogether.
Rule: Proper data dictionary should be maintained to keep all information regarding the data itself. Violation: Many Information System developers choose to ignore this tool. Failure to develop a complete, cohesive data dictionary can lead to disaster.

Information Systems Problem Areas

Costs
Most Information Systems experience cost overruns. <Why?> Usually because of a failure to account for all costs associated with the implementation such as training, type of conversion (parallel, phased, etc.), and probably testing. Sometimes, in the political desire to have the system approved, planners will be too optimistic in their estimates of the total time for development.

Too many times, planners and developers will count only the cost of the hardware and software and forget to include the cost of persware.

Information Systems Problem Areas

Operations
For many reasons, the system simply may not operate the way it was planned and be considered a failure. Perhaps the hardware capacity is not adequate for the software.

Or the hardware and software may be incompatible with the user's needs.

Measuring System Success

Five most important measurements of a successful Information System: 1. High levels of system use: Get feedback from a wide variety of users. 2. User satisfaction with the system: What has it done for me lately? 3. Favorable attitudes: How well do users interact with and get support from the technical people 4. Achieved objectives: How well does the system support the goals of the organization? 5. Financial payoff: Is it worth the cost? Some things you can't put a price tag on such as improved relations with customers

An important Cause of Systems Failure

Ignoring the impact of change in general
Managers, planners, developers, and employees fail to realize all the side issues involved in implementing an Information System. They view it as changing computer equipment or software programs, and ignore the impact of change in general on the organization as a whole. They don't understand the need to manage organizational changes (persware) as aggressively as they manage the hardware and software. Often it's the failure to manage change and not the failure to manage the system which contributes to the downfall of many organizations. You can do everything in the system development process just right, but if you don't manage the changes the people in the organization will experience, you very well could have done all that work for nothing.

Implementer of System as CHANGE AGENT

Implementing a new system is not just about how to put the hardware and software into place.

You have to address and manage the persware element of the triangle and make sure that it is in sync with the hardware and software.
You in essence become a change agent. You have to convince users that the system is going to improve their work and that the new will be better than the old.

If people are going to lose their jobs because of the new system or if they are going to experience a significant difference in responsibilities, you must be clear in communicating with them.

Actions and Indicators for Successful System Implementation

Support by local funds

New organizational arrangements Stable supply and maintenance New personnel classifications Changes in organizational authority Internalization of the training program Continual updating of the system Promotion of key personnel Survival of the system after turnover of its originators

A misconception causes to Implementation Failure

Keep in mind there is no "one size fits all" when it comes to successful implementation. What works well for one organization may lead to failure in another. Each organization has its own culture, its own political structure, and its own methods. "Cookie cutter" implementation plans simply don't exist.

User Involvement and Influence

An important factor in System Implementation Success
Make users feel they own the new system instead of it being an enemy or something they should fear. The new system shouldn't be a surprise on first working day of week! Familiarity should breed acceptance when it comes to new Information Systems. It's so very important to get technical people and non-technical people working in partnership. The strengths of one group can compensate for the weaknesses in the other. That is, technical people may not fully understand the business processes. Users may not know how to design an application interface.

It's actually a simply concept, but one that many organizations fail to grasp.

The User-Designer Communication Gap

User Concerns Will the system deliver the information I need for my work? How quickly can I access the data? Designer Concerns How much disk storage space will the master file consume? How many lines of program code will it take to perform this function?

How easily can I retrieve the data? How can we cut down on the CPU time when we run the system? How much clerical support will I What is the most efficient way of need to enter data into the system? storing a piece of data? How will the operation of the system fit into my daily busy schedule? What database management system should we use?

Management Support and Commitment

Another important factor in System Implementation Success

If managers don't like the new system or fear it, then how in the world can you expect the workers to accept it? The best way to get managers to like, support, and fund the new system is to communicate with them every step of the way. Make sure they know what's going on. After all, managers are people too, and they have the same fears and resistance as anyone else.

Level of Complexity and Risk

Another factor to consider in System Implementation

The more complex the system, the more risk.

It's pretty evident that managing two or three people working on a small system development project is easier than managing 20 people working on a huge project that will envelop the entire organization.
Some organizations choose to develop and implement a new system for a single business unit at a time and then deploy it to other units using a phased approach. It may seem to take longer and cost more, and probably does, but it's easier to manage and problems are easier to resolve on a smaller scale.

Management of Implementation Process

Draw on your experiences of previous projects when implementing a new Information System, even though they may not have been related to computers. The principles of implementations are the same for all projects: it's just another piece of equipment.
Use the same methods to evaluate a new Information System as you would any other piece of equipment. Use the same planning process for implementing the Information System as you would all other equipment. Determine the total cost of the new system as you would any other tool.

Management Challenge of BPR and ERP

People fear change even though it may be good for them.
MIS literature statistics: 70% of all Business Process Reengineering and Enterprise Resource Planning projects fail. The failure can be a result of lack of change management in the organization. What's so different about BPR and ERP that make these projects stand out from other types of organizational change? ---continue---

Management Challenge of BPR and ERP

Mostly it is due to the complexity of the changes, and the fact that these projects encompass the entire organization. Previous projects may have involved just the Production Department or perhaps the Sales and Marketing functions. BPR and ERP seek to join every department, every function, and every process of the business.

Change of this magnitude is extremely difficult to sell to the managers and employees and extremely difficult to complete because of the massive resources and length of time it takes.

Managing Implementation
Anticipate, apply, and adjust. Murphy's Law is also applicable for computers; whatever can go wrong, will go wrong (things will go wrong in any given situation, if you give them a chance) You have to anticipate problems and be ready to solve them.

No system yet devised has been problem free.

There is risk in everything you do. The smallest project has risk. Understanding and managing risk, especially when it comes to people, will help you succeed.

User Involvement Key to success

Involve users throughout the design, implementation, and follow-up to the installation of new systems.
With their involvement they tend to take on ownership of the system. They start to feel a part of the success or failure of the project. People don't want to fail, so they will do what they can to help you succeed. On the flip side, if they don't feel any connection to the project, it has no apparent relevance to their job, they feel disengaged from the success, and they won't care whether it succeeds or fails. Thats why it's so important to involve them in every step to lead to project success.

Some causes of user resistance?

a. People simply don't want to spend the energy to learn new ways of accomplishing tasks. b. They may have had bad experiences with organizational changes in the past. Perhaps they lost their previous job because of corporate downsizing as a result of reorganization. c. People hate feeling stupid and ignorant. If the new system is complicated or confusing, users will do whatever they can to bypass the system. d. If people value their power and stature in an organization, they like to keep the old environment. If a new system threatens their position, they naturally won't be happy about it.

User Involvement Theories

(People oriented theory) Managers should communicate completely and thoroughly with employees to alleviate their fears. Make sure they are properly trained on the new system. Have them play an important role in the implementation of the new system. (System oriented theory) The users must be educated not just on the "how" but on the "why" of the new processes. (Interaction theory) Feelings of loss can be overcome by giving people new responsibilities within the changing structure of the organization. They can be made part of the design or implementation team. They could be given restructured roles and make an important contribution to the success of the system.

Successful System is a Socio-technical System

Unless you design a system that will be totally controlled and operated by robots, you must pay attention to the socio-technical design of your system. Socio-technical design means how the technical aspects of your system will fit in with the human aspects. It addresses the issue: Will the users enjoy using the system because it fits their needs, or will they hate it because it doesn't come close to meeting their job needs? A good system blends all the technical bells and whistles with the human factors necessary for successful implementation.