The fundamental challenge: human and organisational factors in an ERP implementation

Organisations encounter obstacles when implementing ERP systems. This paper intends to explore some of the problems that occur throughout the implementation of an ERP system. Using a combination of the work of Markus et al (2001) and Kim et al (2005), a framework is constructed of Human and Organisational and Technical problems in ERP Implementations during the project phase. Drawing on empirical evidences from a UK furniture manufacturer, this study then discusses and analyses each problem identified in the framework and its affect on the implementation of their ERP system. The findings of this paper reveal that the fundamental challenge of ERP implementation is not technology but organisational and human problems, which, if not properly comprehended and addressed, can lead to ERP failure. Understanding that organisational and human issues are extremely important will encourage practitioners to address these problems and succeed in their ERP system implementations

ELICA: An Automated Tool for Dynamic Extraction of Requirements Relevant Information

Requirements elicitation requires extensive knowledge and deep understanding of the problem domain where the final system will be situated. However, in many software development projects, analysts are required to elicit the requirements from an unfamiliar domain, which often causes communication barriers between analysts and stakeholders. In this paper, we propose a requirements ELICitation Aid tool (ELICA) to help analysts better understand the target application domain by dynamic extraction and labeling of requirements-relevant knowledge. To extract the relevant terms, we leverage the flexibility and power of Weighted Finite State Transducers (WFSTs) in dynamic modeling of natural language processing tasks. In addition to the information conveyed through text, ELICA captures and processes non-linguistic information about the intention of speakers such as their confidence level, analytical tone, and emotions. The extracted information is made available to the analysts as a set of labeled snippets with highlighted relevant terms which can also be exported as an artifact of the Requirements Engineering (RE) process. The application and usefulness of ELICA are demonstrated through a case study. This study shows how pre-existing relevant information about the application domain and the information captured during an elicitation meeting, such as the conversation and stakeholders' intentions, can be captured and used to support analysts achieving their tasks.Comment: 2018 IEEE 26th International Requirements Engineering Conference Workshop

A novel approach to user-steering in scientific workflows

From the scientist's perspective the workflow execution is like black boxes. The scientist submits the workflow and at the end, the result or a notification about failed completion is returned. Concerning long running experiments or when workflows are in experimental phase it may not be acceptable. Scientist may need to fine-tune and monitor their experiments. To support the scientist with special user interaction tool we introduced intervention points (iPoints) where the user takes over the control for a while and has the possibility to interfere, namely to change some parameters or data, or to stop, to restart the workflow or even to deviate from the original workflow model during enactment. We plan to implement our solution in IWIR \cite{plan2011} language which was targeted to provide interoperability between four existing well-known SWfMS within the framework of the SHIWA project

How was it for you? Experiences of participatory design in the UK health service

Improving co-design methods implies that we need to understand those methods, paying attention to not only the effect of method choices on design outcomes, but also how methods affect the people involved in co-design. In this article, we explore participants' experiences from a year-long participatory health service design project to develop ‘Better Outpatient Services for Older People’. The project followed a defined method called experience-based design (EBD), which represented the state of the art in participatory service design within the UK National Health Service. A sample of participants in the project took part in semi-structured interviews reflecting on their involvement in and their feelings about the project. Our findings suggest that the EBD method that we employed was successful in establishing positive working relationships among the different groups of stakeholders (staff, patients, carers, advocates and design researchers), although conflicts remained throughout the project. Participants' experiences highlighted issues of wider relevance in such participatory design: cost versus benefit, sense of project momentum, locus of control, and assumptions about how change takes place in a complex environment. We propose tactics for dealing with these issues that inform the future development of techniques in user-centred healthcare design

Exploring Enterprise Systems Adoption in Bahrain

Enterprise Systems (ES) are multi-million dollar systems that are adopted by organizations to improve their operations. However, implementation of these systems is not straightforward and challenging, as it requires changes in work practices and business practices. These systems become more complicated for organizations in developing countries as they are based on western assumptions. While there are studies that examine ES adoption in developing countries, there are still conflicting results. In this study, we examine the critical success factors in different stages of ES implementation using multiple case studies of three organizations in Bahrain. The findings show that there are different factors important in different stages of implementation. Some of these factors are important throughout the implementation and others are important in particular phases. This research has important implications for research and practice

Multi-centre parallel arm randomised controlled trial to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a group-based cognitive behavioural approach to managing fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis

Abstract (provisional) Background Fatigue is one of the most commonly reported and debilitating symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS); approximately two-thirds of people with MS consider it to be one of their three most troubling symptoms. It may limit or prevent participation in everyday activities, work, leisure, and social pursuits, reduce psychological well-being and is one of the key precipitants of early retirement. Energy effectiveness approaches have been shown to be effective in reducing MS-fatigue, increasing self-efficacy and improving quality of life. Cognitive behavioural approaches have been found to be effective for managing fatigue in other conditions, such as chronic fatigue syndrome, and more recently, in MS. The aim of this pragmatic trial is to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a recently developed group-based fatigue management intervention (that blends cognitive behavioural and energy effectiveness approaches) compared with current local practice. Methods This is a multi-centre parallel arm block-randomised controlled trial (RCT) of a six session group-based fatigue management intervention, delivered by health professionals, compared with current local practice. 180 consenting adults with a confirmed diagnosis of MS and significant fatigue levels, recruited via secondary/primary care or newsletters/websites, will be randomised to receive the fatigue management intervention or current local practice. An economic evaluation will be undertaken alongside the trial. Primary outcomes are fatigue severity, self-efficacy and disease-specific quality of life. Secondary outcomes include fatigue impact, general quality of life, mood, activity patterns, and cost-effectiveness. Outcomes in those receiving the fatigue management intervention will be measured 1 week prior to, and 1, 4, and 12 months after the intervention (and at equivalent times in those receiving current local practice). A qualitative component will examine what aspects of the fatigue management intervention participants found helpful/unhelpful and barriers to change. Discussion This trial is the fourth stage of a research programme that has followed the Medical Research Council guidance for developing and evaluating complex interventions. What makes the intervention unique is that it blends cognitive behavioural and energy effectiveness approaches. A potential strength of the intervention is that it could be integrated into existing service delivery models as it has been designed to be delivered by staff already working with people with MS. Service users will be involved throughout this research. Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN7651747

International Examples Of Large-Scale Systems - Theory And Practice I:Implementing ERP Systems in China

This article reports the findings of an exploratory study of R/3 users in China which was conducted in Spring 2000. The broad purpose of the study is to identify crucial implementation process and context variables which warrant closer attention in the study of IT-enabled organizational change. As companies display a great variety of ownership structures in China (including state-owned, foreign-invested, and privately-held firms), the role of ownership can be studied in relatively greater depth there than elsewhere. While it turns out that ownership is strongly associated with implementation process characteristics, the association of ownership structures with implementation results is much less pronounced. It was found that project governance, specifically the role and decision making style of the steering committee, can be associated with a broad set of outcome variables after controlling for ownership and other important context factors

The future of corporate reporting: a review article

Significant changes in the corporate external reporting environment have led to proposals for fundamental changes in corporate reporting practices. Recent influential reports by major organisations have suggested that a variety of new information types be reported, in particular forward-looking, non-financial and soft information. This paper presents a review and synthesis of these reports and provides a framework for classifying and describing suggested information types. The existence of academic antecedents for certain current proposals are identified and the ambiguous relationship between research and practice is explored. The implications for future academic research are discussed and a research agenda is introduced