An Analysis of the Effect of Environmental and Systems Complexity on Information Systems Failures

Companies have invested large amounts of money on information systems development. Unfortunately, not all information systems developments are successful. Software project failure is frequent and lamentable. Surveys and statistical analysis results underscore the severity and scope of software project failure. Limited research relates software structure to information systems failures. Systematic study of failure provides insights into the causes of IS failure. More importantly, it contributes to better monitoring and control of projects and enhancing the likelihood of the success of management information systems. The underlining theories and literature that contribute to the construction of theoretical framework come from general systems theory, complexity theory, and failure studies. One hundred COBOL programs from a single company are used in the analysis. The program log clearly documents the date, time, and the reasons for changes to the programs. In this study the relationships among the variables of business requirements change, software complexity, program size and the error rate in each phase of software development life cycle are tested. Interpretations of the hypotheses testing are provided as well. The data shows that analysis error and design error occur more often than programming error. Measurement criteria need to be developed at each stage of the software development cycle, especially in the early stage. The quality and reliability of software can be improved continuously. The findings from this study suggest that it is imperative to develop an adaptive system that can cope with the changes to the business environment. Further, management needs to focus on processes that improve the quality of the system design stage

Decision Support Systems: Issues and Challenges; Proceedings of an International Task Force Meeting, June 23-25, 1980

This book reports on a three-day meeting on Decision Support Systems held at IIASA. IIASA's interest in sponsoring the meeting was spurred by several factors. First, the term DSS clearly is used in a wide range of contexts; we hoped to develop a deeper understanding of the term and the new field to which it refers. Second, we felt that ongoing work in the DSS field would be enhanced by interaction between professionals who had been working on such systems and people from fields that function as "resource disciplines" for DSS. Finally we wished to bring professionals from several nations together, from the east as well as the west, to share experiences and to assess the viability of the DSS concept in different cultures. The broad objectives set for this meeting were realized in a number of ways. Virtually all the participants testified that they had gained a deeper understanding of DSS, the role it can play in asssisting managers in organizations, and the need for further development in key areas

Analysis of some problems in the management and cost control of public sector construction projects in Nigeria

Development is a difficult, painful and long-term enterprise. Not only because of world wide social and economic changes with extensive debts problems, inflation, recession and slow growth, but it is also a matter of finding the technically and economically optimum solution. Over the long-term, the challenge for developing countries is to use their limited resources more efficiently and more equitably through the management of all investment outlays in both the public and private sector. Construction is a major investment sector in Nigeria, attracting an average of over 60% of all capital investment, with over 70% of that 60% sponsored by the public sector. Construction projects handled by the public sector in developing countries are however fraught with problems, from inception through to completion and beyond. This is well known to members of the public sector agencies. Year after year, in good times and bad, development projects suffer from a host of problems: some of design; others of appraisal; and still others of implementation. Most construction projects are characterised by overruns in cost and time, and are sometimes halted altogether before completion. It is therefore necessary to understand the problems underlying the system being practised, to establish a realistic pattern, and to be able to interpret and correct any abnormalities. A lack of understanding of the constraints leads to unrealistic planning, and to later problems that may become insoluble. This research was therefore aimed at identifying these problems, many of which arise from attempts to implement a technology, in this case management technology, in a country other than the country of its origin. In a comparative study between Nigeria and Scotland a large number of public agencies which sponsor construction projects, and the contracting and consulting organisations that work for these agencies, were surveyed using both face-to-face interviews and the postal questionnaire technique. It was found that the major problems in Nigeria are: bureaucratic obstacles affecting timely payment to contractors; ambiguity in consultant/client contract agreements; lack of sufficient qualified professionals in the agencies; and lack of suitable information on which to base initial estimates. Recommendations for improving practice in Nigeria include: administrative reform of construction agencies to reduce the trammels of bureaucracy; a better system of funding by central Government; establishment of a construction cost information agency; and payment of competitive salaries to public sector professional staff. These changes, taking into account the cultural environment of Nigeria, should enable decisions to be made with greater certainty of outcome by all parties involved

User participation and user satisfaction in information systems development

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University, 26/06/2001.Information Systems (IS) are being developed and used in organizations to achieve their business goals and to enhance organizational effectiveness. The rate of systems success is questionable. One of the causes of IS failures might be user dissatisfaction with the systems. The success of an Information System is difficult to measure directly, so user satisfaction and system usage are frequently used as surrogate measures of system success. User participation in IS development has been advocated to achieve user satisfaction with the system and consequently system success. Past research findings about the effect of user participation on user satisfaction leading to system success are mixed and inconclusive. Past research has not been successful in showing whether user participation in IS development is necessary or not. So further research in this respect is justifiable. This thesis investigated the effect of user participation/involvement on user satisfaction. The effect of user expectations, and user-developer effective communications on user satisfaction has also been explored. A research model was proposed to proceed with this research. Meta-Analysis was carried out to investigate the relationship between user participation, user expectations and user-developer effective communication each with user satisfaction respectively. This thesis found some relationship of these factors with user satisfaction. The strength of the relationship (i. e. correlation 'r') was found to be 'medium' but not large'. The results also show that user involvement has a larger correlation with user satisfaction as opposed to user participation. The findings not only lead to the conclusions that user participation/involvement, user expectations, and user-developer effective communication have positive relationship with user satisfaction, but also contribute to the existing alternative views among IS researchers. The relationship between system usage and user satisfaction was found to be positive and of 'medium' strength and contrasts with the prevailing view that no correlation exists between them. So research findings are not only useful to resolve controversies that exists in past research but also lead to conclusions that user participation may contribute towards successful IS development and consequently user satisfaction with IS. Further, the causes of the emergence of unrealistic user expectations are explored and suggestions for future research are made.Government of Pakista

Information system's project management and the phenomenon of trust.

The aim of this research was to investigate how the continual low success rate of IS projects could be improved through an evaluation of success and failure factors. A literature review revealed a comprehensive but uncoordinated history of research into the identification of the critical factors. This proved to be inconclusive, but did indicate that project management contributed more to the failures than the technology. A model for expressing the complexity of IS project environments is proposed to aid project teams with their strategy. Also, the criteria for measuring success of both project managemenat nd IS projects has been extended. Although many disciplines had considered trust as a success factor, this was missing within the domain of project management. To examine the effect of trust in an IS project environment a game termed Project Paradox was designed and run. A lack of trust was found to be compounded by conflicting objectives inherent within IS projects. It is recommended that the issues relating to trust should be considered and managed as an integral part of a risk analysis. To enable this to be realised in practice a framework for a Trust Audit is proposed. The thesis concludes with a number of research initiatives aimed at improving the success rate of IS projects

Accountants\u27 index. Twenty-fourth supplement, January-December 1975

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_accind/1026/thumbnail.jp

Information system's project management and the phenomenon of trust

The aim of this research was to investigate how the continual low success rate of IS projects could be improved through an evaluation of success and failure factors. A literature review revealed a comprehensive but uncoordinated history of research into the identification of the critical factors. This proved to be inconclusive, but did indicate that project management contributed more to the failures than the technology. A model for expressing the complexity of IS project environments is proposed to aid project teams with their strategy. Also, the criteria for measuring success of both project managemenat nd IS projects has been extended. Although many disciplines had considered trust as a success factor, this was missing within the domain of project management. To examine the effect of trust in an IS project environment a game termed Project Paradox was designed and run. A lack of trust was found to be compounded by conflicting objectives inherent within IS projects. It is recommended that the issues relating to trust should be considered and managed as an integral part of a risk analysis. To enable this to be realised in practice a framework for a Trust Audit is proposed. The thesis concludes with a number of research initiatives aimed at improving the success rate of IS projects.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo