Development of an IS change reason - IS change type combination matrix

Firms change their information systems (IS) for various reasons, ranging from compliance with government regulations to the development of new capabilities. When making these changes a firm can choose between four different IS change types: IS introduction, IS extension, IS replacement, and IS merger. This paper proposes that change reasons and change types are interrelated, and that certain reason-type combinations are more likely than others to result in a successful IS change. To identify these combinations, an IS change reason–IS change type matrix is developed. While the matrix is created from prior IS research, we conducted a focus group study of IS professionals to further explore and refine the matrix. The findings from the focus group study reveal that some IS change reason–IS change type combinations are more appropriate than others to carry out the IS change project successfully. We also present three examples of IS change projects to illustrate the use and value of the matrix in practice

Life-cycle management of construction projects based on virtual prototyping technology

Life-cycle management (LCM) has been employed in the management of construction projects for many years in order to reduce whole life cost, time, risk and improve the service to owners. However, owing to lack of an effective information sharing platform, the current LCM of construction projects is not effectively used in the construction industry. Based upon the analysis of the information flow of LCM, a virutal prototyping (VP)-based communication and collaboration information platform is proposed. Following this, the platform is customized using DASSAULT sofware. The whole process of implementing the VP-based LCM are also discussed and, from a simple case study, it is demonstrated that the VP-based communication and collaboration information platform is an effective tool to support the LCM of construction projects

E-business challenges for intermodal freight - Some international comparisons

Separate Canadian and Australian government-sponsored studies, both reporting in mid-2001, have investigated expected impacts of rapid growth in e-business on transportation infrastructure and services. The different viewpoints of these two studies allow consideration of implications for freight transportation in general and intermodal freight in particular. The findings reported, relating to supply chain changes, special challenges for rail- and sea-freight carriers, and changes in requirements for freight warehousing and interchange, have international relevance, which leads to suggested policy responses. The importance of e-business in affecting freight transportation should not be underestimated. Transportation experts interviewed in the Australian study unanimously considered this the issue of most consequence for transportation over the next 5 to 10 years. Both studies point to freight transportation having significant potential to aid economic growth from e-business and conversely to a lack of appropriate infrastructure to accommodate that growth