The Impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on IT Project Management: A Case Study

In 2002, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed into law requiring all U.S. based, publicly traded companies to report on the status of their internal controls governing the reporting of financial information. Because of the close relationship between financial reporting and IT, the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act has also greatly impacted IT Governance and the way IT projects are managed. This study is investigating the impact of SOX on IT Project Management within a large corporation. The study is evaluating three areas of impact: 1) The introduction and formalization of internal controls as defined by the COBIT framework, 2) The positive and negative effects on IT project implementation, and 3) The additional costs to an IT project to maintain compliance to the SOX requirement. In addition, the study also considers if the introduction of internal controls has impacted the organization’s development maturity when evaluated against standard maturity models

The Impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on IT Project Management

This case study investigated the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) on IT project management within a large, nationwide retail corporation. Using the teleological motor as a framework to evaluate process change, this study observed three primary impacts the SOX mandates had on IT project management: (1) an increase in project management formalization, (2) an increase in project duration, and (3) the need to support project management and audit activities with project management software. The study also observed three secondary effects resulting from the changes made to IT project management practices to support SOX: (1) an increase in process maturity, (2) an increase in the size of the IT staff, and (3) a breaking down of larger projects into more, smaller projects. This dual iteration of the teleological cycle appeared to be a natural action / reaction process to the changes resulting from SOX requirements

Can Information Systems Foster Emotional Intelligence? A Design Theory-Based Approach

Researchers in Information Systems (IS) have conducted extensive research into various kinds of collaboration systems over the last twenty-five years. A parallel stream of inquiry in psychology and management has developed research in organizational Emotional Intelligence, which contributes to the effectiveness of group interactions by increasing cooperation and reducing conflict. Collaboration systems present a special opportunity to introduce soft management functions such as Emotional Intelligence because they are designed as an intelligent channel of interaction between group members. This research used an Information Systems Design Theory approach to guide the integration of Emotional Intelligence functions into collaboration systems. Two artifact systems were constructed based on these designs, and the systems were utilized and compared in a lab exercise that required group interaction. The findings of the research provide validation of the design approach, evaluation of emotional communication effects, and implications for new dimensions of emotion-based subtext and advisory capabilities that enhance Emotional Intelligence