Implementation of Specialized Software in Hospital Foodservice Departments: A Multi-Case Study Approach

This study investigated the implementation of specialized hospital foodservice software in five hospital foodservice departments using qualitative and quantitative research methods. The software provided diet office systems management, purchasing, inventory, production tools, financial, and cafeteria management features. The departments underwent a mandatory implementation of the software. Each hospital belonged to a division of 17 hospitals within a large for-profit healthcare corporation. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 27 individuals involved in the implementation of the software or who used the software during and following implementation. Additionally, a questionnaire investigating technology readiness and willingness to adopt was administered post-implementation to 104 hospital foodservice employees working in the five hospital foodservice departments. Secondary patient satisfaction data and financial data spanning six months pre-implementation through six months post-implementation were analyzed. Findings included: identification of barriers and facilitators to software implementation, preferred methods of training, and identification of requested communication tools. Benefits and disadvantages regarding the implementation were identified and modifications to department operations made post-implementation were pinpointed. A perceived effect on departmental efficiency was noted at four of the five foodservice departments; however, the perceived effect was not consistent and no overall effect was found. Patient satisfaction was impacted by the implementation process. Four of the five foodservice departments experienced a decrease in patient satisfaction during the quarter software implementation occurred. The results from the survey indicated there was familiarity with and perceived value in the use of technology. The majority of foodservice employees (69%) indicated they ‘liked the idea of automating the diet office’. This study found leadership and communication are key components in the implementation of software in hospital foodservice. Evidence of strong leadership and good communication helped to facilitate the implementation, while poor communication and leadership were barriers to the implementation process. Electronic training methods were poorly received by the end users, while hands on training was well received and found effective by end users. The addition of registered dietitians in the implementation process appeared beneficial and resulted in the end users feeling proficient with the software

Partner ecosystems in enterprise software: cause and effect of the business model from vendor, partner and customer perspectives

“A Software Ecosystem” is an economic ecosystem that forms around one specific software vendor. As the software industry changes rapidly, research presented earlier shows, that the success of a software is not only defined by its own success but by the success of its ecosystem.” (Popp & Meyer, 2010, s. 131) In most cases, a software ecosystem formulates over time around one large, global organization. The vendor enables other companies to engage in co-operation with it, resell its product portfolio to customers or complement their own offerings with the organization’s product or service portfolio. In large software ecosystems, there are multiple types of third-party organizations engaging the vendor and acting between it and the end customers. Different types of third party organizations aim to bring value to the ecosystem in different ways, according to business strategies they have chosen. The most common types of third party entities in enterprise software ecosystems are Value-added resellers (VARs), Value-added distributors (VADs), System Integrators (SIs) and independent technology consultants. The purpose of the ecosystem is to act as an environment that enables all parties in the ecosystem to benefit from each other’s existence and create value that could not be captured as efficiently, if at all, without the ecosystem and the external entities as parts of it. The most common goals the software vendors pursue with the ecosystem strategy can be further subcategorized into three main sub-goals; financial goals including cost-cutting and monetization, product leadership related goals through open co-innovation, and finally network effect related goals that can be achieved in the market. Although strategic partnerships complicate the business especially since the third parties might represent multiple competing technology vendors, they have been successfully utilized in almost every major industry, including enterprise software. In general, software ecosystems enable increasing value to existing end users, increasing attractiveness to new users, sharing the efforts of product innovation between the partners and increasing lock-in effect among the global clientele. Additionally, the partners enable physical presence in more local markets without expanding the vendor’s own customer facing sales personnel to uncontrollable numbers

Generic Enterprise Software Implementation as Context for User-Oriented Design: Three Conditions and their Implications for Vendors

User-oriented approaches to designing IT are consistently promoted by academic and practitioner literature. These orients the design process around the specific practices and needs of end-users to build usable and relevant systems. However, an increasingly relevant but little explored context for the design of IT is that of implementing generic enterprise software solutions. In this paper, we explore conditions for user-oriented design during the implementation of generic enterprise software. Our empirical data is based on an ongoing engaged research project, where we work with the vendor of a global generic software solution and a set of implementation specialist groups (ISGs). Together, we explore how user-oriented design during implementation of the software solution can be supported and promoted. The paper contributes to the body of knowledge on the design and implementation of generic enterprise software by identifying several challenges and three conditions for user-oriented design in this context. The conditions are: the project configuration, the implementation practices of the ISGs, and the features and adaption capabilities of the generic software solution. We further contribute by discussing their implications for vendors who want to support and promote user-oriented design during implementation of their software solutions

Security Vulnerabilities of the Web Based Open Source Information Systems: Adoption Process and Source Codes Screening

This paper exposes security vulnerabilities of the web based Open Source Information Systems (OSIS) from both system angle and human perspectives.It shows the extent of risk that can likely hinder adopting organization from attaning full intended benefits of using OSIS software. To undertake this study, a case study methodology was opted with fifteen public and private organizations being software companies and technology users. The respondents to this study were categorized as top  management, software developers, systems administrators and end users. Apart from intensive documentary review, critical investigation of onsite servers running nine web based OSIS systems has been done. The studied systems are MOODLE, OrangeHRM, ATutor, Koha, WebERP, vTigerCRM, OpenDocMan, OpenSIS and Zalongwa software.The study reveals that there are security weaknesses in locally customized OSIS systems and freely downloadable information systems from internet repository. This has been a result of uncoordinated operations and ad hoc performance of key OSIS stakeholders ranging from early stages of sourcing the said software, OSIS selection, adoption, customization, installation, upgrading androutine management.Keywords – Open Source Software, Information System, Software Security

Telling timber tales in higher education: a reflection on my journey with digital storytelling

The challenges of the Higher Education landscape are the result of massification and globalisation. The general lack of preparedness in students and lack of academic literacy means that plagiarism is increasingly a challenge in written assignments. In the South African context, this is amplified, as students may be studying in their third or fourth language. Relying on students' affinity for visual learning, digital storytelling was first used as an alternative assessment method (to a written assignment) in 2011. This paper is a reflection on a lecturer's journey with digital storytelling, beginning with the first project in the Industrial Design programme at a University of Technology in South Africa. The short movie clips, known as digital stories, were created with off-the-shelf equipment and techniques, and any open source software available to the students. By evaluating the project using the lens of Authentic Learning, some of the benefits and challenges of using this alternative means of assessment could be identified. The authentic learning, the polished end products, the engagement of students with the material, the decidedly independent learning, and the collaborative practice were recognised as key benefits. The students also saw the visual orientation of the project, the digital literacy-building, and freedom of creative expression as benefits, and revealed their resourcefulness during the student-led project. This paper also acknowledges the two models of digital storytelling, the growth of communities of practice and the possibilities for further research into this growing area of learning in Higher Education