164,044 research outputs found
Goals/questions/metrics method and SAP implementation projects
During the last years some researchers have studied the critical success factors (CSFs) in ERP implementations.
However, until now, no one has studied how these CSFs should be put in practice to help organizations achieve success
in ERP implementations. This technical research report attempts to define the usage of Goals/Questions/Metrics (GQM)
approach in the definition of a measurement system for ERP implementation projects. GQM approach is a mechanism for
defining and interpreting operational, measurable goals. Lately, because of its intuitive nature the approach has
gained widespread appeal. We present a metrics overview and a description of GQM approach. Then we provide an example
of GQM application for monitoring sustained management support in ERP implementations. Sustained management support
is the most cited critical success factor in ERP implementation projects.Postprint (published version
Bridging the gap between service provision and customer expectation
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to serve as a reminder to all managers that they must understand their customers, from the customersâ perspective, and not make assumptions about customer needs. Design/methodology/approach: Customer Value Discovery workshops are held with undergraduate on-campus students and academic staff at Nottingham Trent University to identify customer values and irritations. Library staff participate in the workshops and vote as they expected their customers to vote. The gaps identified between staff assumptions of customer perceptions of service importance and performance serve as a catalyst for staff engagement in the change process that is necessary to deliver on the value propositions and reduce customer irritations. Findings: Library staff assumptions of customer perceptions were not always accurate. The gaps identified helped to engage staff in the change process that was necessary to improve perceptions of value and to reduce irritations. By explicitly addressing the value propositions with the aims of adding value and reducing irritation, student satisfaction with library services, as measured by two independent satisfaction surveys, improved considerably. Research limitations/implications: The research is based on two customer segments of one university library. The research should be repeated after a gap of three-four years to check if the value propositions and irritations have changed in that time. If so, the goals of the libraryâs operational plan would have to change to reflect the new value propositions
An evaluation of the RAPID assessment-based process improvement method for small firms
[Abstract]: With increasing interest by the software development community in software process improvement (SPI), it is vital that SPI programs are evaluated and the reports of lessons learned disseminated. This paper presents an evaluation of a program in which low-rigour, one-day SPI assessments were offered at no cost to 22 small Australian software development firms. The assessment model was based on ISO/IEC 15504 (SPICE). About twelve months after the assessment, the firms were contacted to arrange a follow-up meeting to determine the extent to which they had implemented the recommendations from the assessment.
Comparison of the process capability levels at the time of assessment and the follow-up meetings revealed that the process improvement program was effective in improving the process capability of many of these small software development firms. Analysis of the assessment and follow-up reports explored important issues relating to SPI: elapsed time from assessment to follow-up meeting, the need for mentoring, the readiness of firms for SPI, the role of the owner/manager, the advice provided by the
assessors, and the need to record costs and benefits. Based on a meta-analysis of the program and its outcomes, advice and recommendations are provided to small firms and assessors. As well as providing validation of the assessment model and method, the outcomes from this research have the potential to better equip practitioners and consultants to undertake software process improvement, hence increasing the success of small software development firms in domestic and global markets
Non-Technical Individual Skills are Weakly Connected to the Maturity of Agile Practices
Context: Existing knowledge in agile software development suggests that
individual competency (e.g. skills) is a critical success factor for agile
projects. While assuming that technical skills are important for every kind of
software development project, many researchers suggest that non-technical
individual skills are especially important in agile software development.
Objective: In this paper, we investigate whether non-technical individual
skills can predict the use of agile practices. Method: Through creating a set
of multiple linear regression models using a total of 113 participants from
agile teams in six software development organizations from The Netherlands and
Brazil, we analyzed the predictive power of non-technical individual skills in
relation to agile practices. Results: The results show that there is
surprisingly low power in using non-technical individual skills to predict
(i.e. explain variance in) the mature use of agile practices in software
development. Conclusions: Therefore, we conclude that looking at non-technical
individual skills is not the optimal level of analysis when trying to
understand, and explain, the mature use of agile practices in the software
development context. We argue that it is more important to focus on the
non-technical skills as a team-level capacity instead of assuring that all
individuals possess such skills when understanding the use of the agile
practices.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figur
ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks: a literature review
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation is a complex and vibrant process, one that involves a combination of technological and organizational interactions. Often an ERP implementation project is the single largest IT project that an organization has ever launched and requires a mutual fit of system and organization. Also the concept of an ERP implementation supporting business processes across many different departments is not a generic, rigid and uniform concept and depends on variety of factors. As a result, the issues addressing the ERP implementation process have been one of the major concerns in industry. Therefore ERP implementation receives attention from practitioners and scholars and both, business as well as academic literature is abundant and not always very conclusive or coherent. However, research on ERP systems so far has been mainly focused on diffusion, use and impact issues. Less attention has been given to the methods used during the configuration and the implementation of ERP systems, even though they are commonly used in practice, they still remain largely unexplored and undocumented in Information Systems research. So, the academic relevance of this research is the contribution to the existing body of scientific knowledge. An annotated brief literature review is done in order to evaluate the current state of the existing academic literature. The purpose is to present a systematic overview of relevant ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks as a desire for achieving a better taxonomy of ERP implementation methodologies. This paper is useful to researchers who are interested in ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks. Results will serve as an input for a classification of the existing ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks. Also, this paper aims also at the professional ERP community involved in the process of ERP implementation by promoting a better understanding of ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks, its variety and history
Extending the IS-Impact model into the higher education sector
The study addresses known limitations of what may be the most important dependent variable in Information Systems (IS) research; IS-Success or IS-Impact. The study is expected to force a deeper understanding of the broad notions of IS success and impact. The aims of the research are to: (1) enhance the robustness and minimize limitations of the IS-Impact model, and (2) introduce and operationalise a more rigorously validated IS Impact measurement model to Universities, as a reliable model for evaluating different Administrative Systems. In extending and further generalizing the IS-Impact model, the study will address contemporary validation issues
Measuring Process Modelling Success
Process-modelling has seen widespread acceptance, par ticularly on large IT-enabled Business Process Reengineering projects. It is applied, as a process design and management technique, across all life-cycle phases of a system. While there has been much research on aspects of process-modelling, little attention has focused on post-hoc evaluation of process-modelling success. This paper addresses this gap, and presents a process-modelling success measurement (PMS) framework, which includes the dimensions: process-model quality; model use; user satisfaction; and process modelling impact. Measurement items for each dimension are also suggested
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Improving customer satisfaction: changes as a result of Customer Value Discovery
Objective: To identify Gold Standard Services for customers in an academic library and determine whether interventions following the identification of customer value increased student satisfaction. Methods: âCustomer Discovery Workshopsâ were undertaken with academic staff and undergraduate onâcampus students to provide managers and library staff with information on the services and resources that customers valued, and what irritated them about existing services and resources. The impact of interventions was assessed two years after the research using a university student satisfaction survey and an independent national student satisfaction survey. Results: The findings resulted in significant changes to the way forwardâfacing customer services were delivered. A number of value adding services were introduced for the customer. Overall customer satisfaction was improved. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 2008, 3:1 34 Conclusions: The Customer Value Discovery research has created a culture of innovation and continuous improvement. An operational plan was introduced to track activity and performance against the objectives identified in the customer value research. However, there is a constant need to innovate
A framework for the successful implementation of food traceability systems in China
Implementation of food traceability systems in China faces many challenges due to the scale, diversity and complexity of Chinaâs food supply chains. This study aims to identify critical success factors specific to the implementation of traceability systems in China. Twenty-seven critical success factors were identified in the literature. Interviews with managers at four food enterprises in a pre-study helped identify success criteria
and five additional critical success factors. These critical success factors were tested through a survey of managers in eighty-three food companies. This study identifies six dimensions for critical success factors: laws, regulations and standards; government support; consumer knowledge and support; effective management and communication; top management and vendor support; and information and system quality
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