Evaluating cost taxonomies for information systems management

The consideration of costs, benefits and risks underpin many Information System (IS) evaluation decisions. Yet, vendors and project-champions alike tend to identify and focus much of their effort on the benefits achievable from the adoption of new technology, as it is often not in the interest of key stakeholders to spend too much time considering the wider cost and risk implications of enterprise-wide technology adoptions. In identifying a void in the literature, the authors of the paper present a critical analysis of IS-cost taxonomies. In doing so, the authors establish that such cost taxonomies tend to be esoteric and difficult to operationalize, as they lack specifics in detail. Therefore, in developing a deeper understanding of IS-related costs, the authors position the need to identify, control and reduce IS-related costs within the information systems evaluation domain, through culminating and then synthesizing the literature into a frame of reference that supports the evaluation of information systems through a deeper understanding of IS-cost taxonomies. The paper then concludes by emphasizing that the total costs associated with IS-adoption can only be determined after having considered the multi-faceted dimensions of information system investments

The propagation of technology management taxonomies for evaluating investments in information systems

To provide managers with a critical insight into the management of new technology, this paper uses a case study research strategy to examine the technology management experiences of a leading UK manufacturing organization during its adoption of a vendor-supplied Manufacturing Resource Planning information system.<br /

A comprehensive analysis of it/is indirect costs: Enhancing the evaluation of information systems investments

The level of Information Technology (IT) expenditure within organizations continues to increase over the years in an attempt to gain a competitive advantage in their respective industries. Nonetheless, IT projects still experience budget overruns taking into account the continual fall of hardware costs. This phenomenon presents a dilemma to managers who struggle to evaluate their investments in IT. Adding to the difficulty is the peculiar nature of such investments having Human and Organizational dimensions. Such dimensions are later translated into indirect costs that are both difficult to identify and quantify hence are ignored by managers which hinders the evaluation process. The lack of knowledge of managers about IT/IS indirect costs affect their ability to determine the true costs of deploying IT. It is closing the gap that this paper strives to explore a new method for identifying, managing and controlling IT indirect costs through a case study enquiry of a leading gold producing company. The research establishes a rational that goes beyond the traditional quantification appraisal of costs which is inadequate in the case of indirect costs. It proposes a solution that helps to thoroughly identify the indirect costs, mitigate their effect and achieve the desired control while enhancing the evaluation process through their inclusion

Factors influencing the identification of it indirect costs: A case study

Organizations expenditure on Information technology (IT) related investments continue to rise in the face of the fierce competition in the various marketplaces. Nevertheless, the problem of evaluating such investments remains a challenge to managers due to the inability of the evaluation techniques to accommodate the indirect costs associated with IT investments. This negatively affects the accuracy of the justification process and the investment decision. According to literature, indirect cost factors are not easily identified or quantified because they human and organizational dimensions. Indirect costs, proven to be problematic to accommodate within traditional appraisal techniques, make IT managers choose to ignore them and neglect to include them in IT investment budgets. The research suggests an alternative solution to the problem of quantifying such indirect costs by calling for a more accurate identification of those costs which would enable a more robust management and finally control of such costs. Using a case study the paper highlights the investment decision making process in an international resource company and confirms the call for a more robust identification process. In addition the paper maps each indirect costs factor to the lifecycle stage(s) in which it occurs and presents the factors that influence the quality of the identification process

Information systems evaluation: Navigating through the problem domain

Information systems (IS) make it possible to improve organizational efficiency and effectiveness, which can provide competitive advantage. There is, however, a great deal of difficulty reported in the normative literature when it comes to the evaluation of investments in IS, with companies often finding themselves unable to assess the full implications of their IS infrastructure. Although many of the savings resulting from IS are considered suitable for inclusion within traditional accountancy frameworks, it is the intangible and non-financial benefits, together with indirect project costs that complicate the justification process. In exploring this phenomenon, the paper reviews the normative literature in the area of IS evaluation, and then proposes a set of conjectures. These were tested within a case study to analyze the investment justification process of a manufacturing IS investment. The idiosyncrasies of the case study and problems experienced during its attempts to evaluate, implement, and realize the holistic implications of the IS investment are presented and critically analyzed. The paper concludes by identifying lessons learnt and thus, proposes a number of empirical findings for consideration by decisionmakers during the investment evaluation process

Analysing B2B electronic procurement benefits – Information systems perspective

This paper presents electronic procurement benefits identified in four case companies. The benefits achieved in the case companies were classified according to taxonomies from the Information Systems discipline. Existing taxonomies were combined into a new taxonomy which allows evaluation of the complex e-procurement impact. Traditional financial-based methods failed to capture the nature of e-procurement benefits. In the new taxonomy, eprocurement benefits are classified using scorecard dimensions (strategic, tactical and operational), which allows the identification of areas of e-procurement impact, in addition the benefits characteristic is captured (tangible, intangible, financial and non-financial)

Developing a frame of reference for ex-ante IT/IS investment evaluation

Investment appraisal techniques are an integral part of many traditional capital budgeting processes. However, the adoption of Information Systems (IS) and the development of resulting infrastructures are being increasingly viewed on the basis of consumption. Consequently, decision-makers are now moving away from the confines of rigid capital budgeting processes, which have traditionally compared IS with non-IS-related investments. With this in mind, the authors seek to dissect investment appraisal from the broader capital budgeting process to allow a deeper understanding of the mechanics involved with IS justification. This analysis presents conflicting perspectives surrounding the scope and sensitivity of traditional appraisal methods. In contributing to this debate, the authors present taxonomies of IS benefit types and associated natures, and discuss the resulting implications of using traditional appraisal techniques during the IS planning and decision-making process. A frame of reference that can be used to navigate through the variety of appraisal methods available to decision-makers is presented and discussed. Taxonomies of appraisal techniques that are classified by their respective characteristics are also presented. Perspectives surrounding the degree of involvement that financial appraisal should play during decision making and the limitations surrounding investment appraisal techniques are identifie

A theoretical model for the application of Web 2.0 in e-Government

Government organisations in many countries have started embracing modern technologies such as second generation web (Web 2.0) in an attempt to maximize on the benefits of these technologies as well as keeping up with the current trend. Nevertheless, the advancement and the adoption of these of technologies is in its initial stages in the public sector. Therefore, the research problem is that the literature surrounding the application of Web 2.0 is still highly tentative and exploratory. In particular, there is a lack of research exploring the application of Web 2.0 technologies in the context of local e-Government. This study aims to address this research problem by presenting a comprehensive decision-making tool to aid the effective application of Web 2.0 technologies amongst local government authorities (LGAs). In doing so, resulting in the development of a theoretical model that is underpinned by information systems evaluation criteria and impact factors of Web 2.0 from an internal organizational perspective. By addressing the research problem, this study will make a significant contribution to the normative literature by providing new insights of Web 2.0 technologies within the public sector. This will be of specific relevance to scholars, policy makers, LGAs and practitioners who are interested in the adoption of Web 2.0 technologies in an e-Government context. This paper presents the proposed theoretical model and is largely devoted to an explanation on the development of the model

Transforming failure into success through organisational learning: An analysis of a manufacturing information system

This paper describes the idiosyncracies of a case study company, through highlighting issues and problems experienced during their attempts to evaluate, implement and realise the holistic implications of a manufacturing information system. Although the Information System (IS) was operational for a period of time, it was eventually deemed a failure. The reason for this was that a range of human and organisational factors prevented the organisation from embracing the full impact of the system. The eventual success of their information system was realised through a bespoke implementation, based upon a traditional systems development lifecycle that indirectly addressed learning issues following the earlier failed deployment. The paper highlights key issues relating to business success and failure, and then contrasts them alongside the presented case study. In doing so, the authors conclude by proposing methods through which manufacturing information systems can be transformed for business success. This is described achievable through both a realisation in the positioning of the organisation relative to technology management, and the related mapping of human and technological constructs that support information systems related succes

Building an IT Taxonomy with Co-occurrence Analysis, Hierarchical Clustering, and Multidimensional Scaling

Different information technologies (ITs) are related in complex ways. How can the relationships among a large number of ITs be described and analyzed in a representative, dynamic, and scalable way? In this study, we employed co-occurrence analysis to explore the relationships among 50 information technologies discussed in six magazines over ten years (1998-2007). Using hierarchical clustering and multidimensional scaling, we have found that the similarities of the technologies can be depicted in hierarchies and two-dimensional plots, and that similar technologies can be classified into meaningful categories. The results imply reasonable validity of our approach for understanding technology relationships and building an IT taxonomy. The methodology that we offer not only helps IT practitioners and researchers make sense of numerous technologies in the iField but also bridges two related but thus far largely separate research streams in iSchools - information management and IT management