9,837 research outputs found
The impact of enterprise application integration on information system lifecycles
Information systems (IS) have become the organisational fabric for intra-and inter-organisational collaboration in business. As a result, there is mounting pressure from customers and suppliers for a direct move away from disparate systems operating in parallel towards a more common shared architecture. In part, this has been achieved through the emergence of new technology that is being packaged into a portfolio of technologies known as enterprise application integration (EAI). Its emergence however, is presenting investment decision-makers charged with the evaluation of IS with an interesting challenge. The integration of IS in-line with the needs of the business is extending their identity and lifecycle, making it difficult to evaluate the full impact of the system as it has no definitive start and/or end. Indeed, the argument presented in this paper is that traditional life cycle models are changing as a result of technologies that support their integration with other systems. In this paper, the need for a better understanding of EAI and its impact on IS lifecycles are discussed and a classification framework proposed.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Grant Ref: (GR/R08025) and Australian Research Council (DP0344682)
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
Learning lessons from evaluating eGovernment: Reflective case experiences that support transformational government
Central Government strategy of e-inclusion is being manifested in the form of eGovernment. Given that it is the public
purse that funds such investments, there is increasingly attention being paid to the evaluation of these investments, such
that value for money and organisation learning can be realised. In this paper the authors report the findings from three
interpretive in-depth organisational case studies that explore eGovernment evaluation within a UK public sector setting.
The paper elicits insights to organisational and managerial aspects with the purpose of improving knowledge and understanding
of eGovernment evaluation. The findings that are extrapolated from the case study analysis are presented in terms
of lessons that gravitate around social factors, evaluation, adoption, ownership, prioritisation sponsorship and, responsibility.
These lessons are extrapolated from the empirical enquiry to improve eGovernment evaluation practice. The paper concludes
that eGovernment evaluation is an under developed area, with most work being developmental in nature and as a
result calls for decision makers to engage with the eGovernment agenda and commission eGovernment evaluation exercises
to improve evaluation practice such that transformational Government can realise its full potential. The paper ends
by highlighting political, economic, technical and social issues as the drivers of the evaluation cycle
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
An exploratory study of information technology evaluation and benefits management practices of SMEs in the construction industry
While the number of articles on IT evaluation and benefits management has been substantial, limited attention has been given to these topics in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly the construction industry. This paper presents findings from a questionnaire survey that sought to examine the approaches used by 126 construction organisations to evaluate and justify their IT investments, as well as the benefits and costs that they have experienced due to IT implementation. The analysis of their responses identified three key findings. Firstly, different organisation types significantly differ in the amount they invest in IT and their firm size (in terms of turnover and number of employees) does not influence investment levels in IT. Secondly, the evaluation process adopted by construction SMEs is used as for both control and learning. Thirdly, a major barrier to justifying IT investments was attributed to having no strategic vision. While organisations experienced no significant differences in the tactical and operational benefits incurred after the adoption of IT, differences were found with respect to the strategic benefits. If construction SMEs are to leverage the benefits of IT, then this should form an integral part of their business strategy. Considering this, recommendations for IT evaluation for construction SMEs that are also pertinent for SMEs operating in other industry sectors, are presented
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Towards a methodology for the development of integrated IT infrastructures
In this paper, the authors propose and validate
a methodology for the development of integrated
Information Technology (IT) infrastructures. The
motivation for putting forward a new methodology is
grounded on the limitations of the various software
engineering methodologies (traditional) that exist
today. Despite that the traditional methodologies result
in the development of Information Systems (IS) from
scratch, Enterprise Application Integration (EAI)
builds integrated IT infrastructures using existing
applications. This significant difference is associated
with many issues needed to be realised and addressed
like: (a) the changes that such an infrastructure brings
to organisations, (b) the resistance to change and (c)
the extension of IS lifecycleās. The proposed
methodology consist of eight stages and aims at
supporting software engineers, organisations and
researchers to build integrated IT infrastructures. As a
result the methodology seeks to contribute to the body
of knowledge
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Creating social entrepreneurship in local government
The public sector is often considered synonym with inefficiency and a lack of
motivation to be innovative. This paper seeks to contribute towards the
literature surrounding social entrepreneurship in the public sector, through
using institutional theory to underpin an e-Innovations model that promotes
social entrepreneurship, while recognising how the adoption of innovation
within the public sector is fostered. The proposed model seeks to serve as a
process that threatens the conservative and risk-averse culture endemic in the
public sector
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Theoretical optimisation of IT/IS investments: A research note
The justification of Information Technology (IT) is inherently fuzzy, both in theory and practice. The reason for this is due to the largely intangible dimensions of IT projects. In view of this, this research note presents the results of on-going research, in the application of Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (FCM), as a tool to identify complex functional interrelationships associated with the justification of IT. This paper presents a theoretical functional model which describes these relationships, and by using an FCM, further interrelationships are developed in the context of justifying IT projects. A procedure which would address the optimisation of these intangible relationships in the form of a Genetic Algorithm (GA) is proposed as a process for Investment Justification
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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
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