Information Systems as Strategic Advisors and Strategic Translators – Proposing Information Centred Performance Management

Information technologies, in general, and information systems, in particular, are fast becoming the prime enablers of success and survival in business organisations. These technologies, on one hand, enrich economic, social, and cultural environment of organisations, and on the other hand enhance their competitiveness. For asset managing engineering enterprise, information systems not only help in capturing, storing, and exchanging information, but also enable an integrated view of asset lifecycle management through integration and interoperability of lifecycle information. The variety of systems and the range of objectives associated with these systems demand that organisations need to take stock of their capabilities, resources, and aspirations to enable informed choices regarding Information systems investments. This paper tackles the issue of performance management of information systems utilised in asset lifecycle management, by providing a performance evaluation framework. The framework institutes a generative learning based continuous improvement regime for asset lifecycle management. It provides a cyclical approach to performance measurement such that it assesses and informs the role of Information systems in translating and informing the asset management strategy in a single cycle, thereby enhancing competitiveness of asset managing engineering enterprises

Framework for evaluating water quality information system performance

1994 Fall.Includes bibliographic references (pages 280-308).Water resource and water quality managers are being held increasingly accountable for the programs they manage. Much progress has been made in applying total systems perspectives to the design and operation of water quality monitoring and information programs, and towards rationalizing those programs with respect to management objectives and information needs. A recent example of that progress is the development of data analysis protocols to enhance the information system design process. However, further work is necessary to develop approaches which can help managers confront the water quality management environment of the future, which will be characterized by: (1) fewer purely technical questions, (2) more complex problems with social, economic, political and legal ramifications, and (3) actively managed and continuously improved water quality information systems. This research concludes that the management of water quality information systems for continuous improvement requires: (1) a competent system design process, (2) comprehensive documentation of system design and operation, and (3) a routine and thorough performance measurement and evaluation process. The framework for evaluating water quality information system performance presented in this dissertation integrates the experience of several disciplines into an instrument to help water quality managers accomplish these requirements. The framework embodies four phases: (1) evaluation planning, (2) watershed and management system analyses, (3) information system analysis, and (4) information system performance evaluation. The application of the framework is demonstrated in the evaluation of water quality monitoring programs associated with a unique municipal water transfer project. Water quality professionals of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Geological Survey are surveyed as to its potential application to large (e.g., regional or national) systems. Those exercises indicate the framework to be a convenient, economic, and flexible instrument useful towards enhancing water quality information system performance. Recommendations for future research to refine the framework and to extend its scope and utility are also presented

IS Cognitive Load: An Examination of Measurement Convergence

Despite the growth and interest in information processing research, understanding the supporting role of information systems (IS) has been limited. While cognitive processing of information has been examined in learning environments with traditional learning tasks, the investigation of cognitive load within complex simulated IS learning environments has received less attention. Traditional measurement allows for a broad user evaluation of the ISs and actual usage from a holistic perspective; however, detailed synchronous evaluation of cognitive load during the usage of the IS may allow for more accurate assessment of how system features influence cognitive load and subsequent performance outcomes. Therefore, this research attempts to integrate traditional subjective and physiological measurements to examine cognitive load within a dynamic simulated IS learning environment. This research study focuses on how subjective and objective physiological (galvanic skin response (GSR), heart rate variability (HRV), and electroencephalography (EEG) measures of cognitive load compare in simulated IS training environments

Vendor evaluation and selection

This work presents an evaluation of supplier selection processes in corporate environments using a multiple exploratory case study in one of the foundry in Malaysia and the approach in ISO 9000 standards. The corporate environments examined were a iron casting foundry or organization. This research indicates that the supplier performance measurement criteria most commonly used by these industries are environmental, quality, delivery and information. Also, depending on the corporate environment of the foundry, the importance of these performance metrics can be varying. In general, quality is important criterion in the organizations studied. But information and communication is a critical supplier's performance measure in the foundry, since the reliability of the suppliers is affected in case of information system failure in these industries. Finally, these organizations continuously review and implement effective quality systems following the rigorous ISO 9000 series of standards and most companies have developed in- house procedures for the supplier selection process

A Flexible Modeling Approach for Robust Multi-Lane Road Estimation

A robust estimation of road course and traffic lanes is an essential part of environment perception for next generations of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems and development of self-driving vehicles. In this paper, a flexible method for modeling multiple lanes in a vehicle in real time is presented. Information about traffic lanes, derived by cameras and other environmental sensors, that is represented as features, serves as input for an iterative expectation-maximization method to estimate a lane model. The generic and modular concept of the approach allows to freely choose the mathematical functions for the geometrical description of lanes. In addition to the current measurement data, the previously estimated result as well as additional constraints to reflect parallelism and continuity of traffic lanes, are considered in the optimization process. As evaluation of the lane estimation method, its performance is showcased using cubic splines for the geometric representation of lanes in simulated scenarios and measurements recorded using a development vehicle. In a comparison to ground truth data, robustness and precision of the lanes estimated up to a distance of 120 m are demonstrated. As a part of the environmental modeling, the presented method can be utilized for longitudinal and lateral control of autonomous vehicles

Outdated Measurements Are Still Useful For Multi-Sensor Linear Control Systems With Random Communication Delays

Linear systems are a widely used model for the control tasks of modern cyber physical systems around their stationary state(s), e.g., smart grids, remote health applications, and autonomous driving systems. Specifically, each sensor first compresses its own measurement and then sends it to the controller. Due to the inevitable random communication delay, the controller needs to decide how to fuse the received information to compute the desired control action. Suppose a fusion center has received several measurements over time. One common belief is that the control decision should be made solely based on the latest measurement of each sensor while ignoring the older/stale measurements from the same sensor. This work shows that while such a strategy is optimal in a single-sensor environment, it can be strictly suboptimal for a multi-sensor system. Namely, if one properly fuses both the latest and outdated measurements from each of the sensors, one can strictly improve the underlying control system performance. The numerical evaluation shows that even at a very low communication rate of 8 bits per measurement per sensor, the proposed scheme achieves a state variance of only 5% away from the best possible achievable L2 norm. It is 15% better than the MMSE fusion scheme using exclusively the freshest measurements (while discarding outdated ones)

The pathology of political conundrum and the utilisation of M&E information in the public service in Africa

Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems continue to be at the centre of and a reference point for effective public service performance management ethos. A clear distinction exists between performance measurement and performance management, the latter carrying an addition for use of M&E performance information generated from the M&E systems. The performance management regime has been overtaken by the new public governance or the so-called “New Public Service” that goes deeper in suggesting a wholesale use of M&E information within complexities of stakeholder management and the public service political space. The debate on the consumption of M&E performance information starts in the quest for pursuing an agreement in the public interest. Evidence demonstrates that politics and political space affect the level of adoption and use of M&E information. The ferocity of politics and complexities of the political operating environment have the ability of distressing consumption of M&E information.https://journals.co.za/content/journal/ajpahttps://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/59589am2019School of Public Management and Administration (SPMA

A second generation experiment in fault-tolerant software

Information was collected on the efficacy of fault-tolerant software by conducting two large-scale controlled experiments. In the first, an empirical study of multi-version software (MVS) was conducted. The second experiment is an empirical evaluation of self testing as a method of error detection (STED). The purpose ot the MVS experiment was to obtain empirical measurement of the performance of multi-version systems. Twenty versions of a program were prepared at four different sites under reasonably realistic development conditions from the same specifications. The purpose of the STED experiment was to obtain empirical measurements of the performance of assertions in error detection. Eight versions of a program were modified to include assertions at two different sites under controlled conditions. The overall structure of the testing environment for the MVS experiment and its status are described. Work to date in the STED experiment is also presented

Performance management and evaluation in non-profit organisations: an embedded mixed methods approach

A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in management accounting of the University of Bedfordshire, UKPerformance management research in the private and public sector has received much attention in management accounting research; however, empirical studies on performance management in the non-profit sector remain scarce. This study proposes and validates a model that explains the relationships between contingency variables, performance management practices, and organisational effectiveness in the non-profit sector. The study employed a mixed methods research approach, which entailed a field study and a cross-sectional survey in the Kenyan non-profit sector. The field study was undertaken to understand the perceptions of NPO leaders on non-profit sector characteristics, organisational effectiveness, determinants, challenges, and benefits of implementation of performance management systems in the Kenyan non-profit sector. Thereafter, a cross-sectional survey (using mailed questionnaires and an online survey) was used to collect quantitative primary data. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the quantitative data. The structural equation modelling approach was adopted to test the hypothesised relationships among the contingency factors, performance management practices and organisational effectiveness. The findings indicate that performance management in NPOs can be categorised into three groups: performance planning, performance measurement and performance context. The NPOs emphasise mission statements and core values within the formal PM system. Although a number of private sector measurement frameworks are utilised, the NPOs mostly use logical framework, with emphasis on output and financial measures and team based targets with no clear rewards. The PM systems are resource intensive and they lead to goal displacement and narrow definition and measurement of organisational effectiveness. The results further reveal that among the contingency variables, strategic orientation significantly predicted performance management practices and organisational effectiveness in non-profits. Among the performance management variables, performance planning, performance targets, and performance rewards significantly predict organisational effectiveness domains. Furthermore, performance management practices mediate the relationship between strategic orientations, technology, information technology, leadership and external environment and organisational effectiveness domains. However, organisational size was not significantly related to performance management practices or organisational effectiveness. To successfully implement and benefit from the PM system, non-profit organisations need to address the fit between contextual factors and the performance management system. By employing a pragmatic, embedded, mixed methods approach this study provides empirical evidence of performance management practices that influence organisational effectiveness beyond the rhetoric of performance management theory. At the practice level, the findings will benefit Kenya government, non-profit organisations, donor agencies and performance evaluation practitioners