+ All Categories
Home > Documents > Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Date post: 28-Oct-2014
Category:
Upload: alistercrowe
View: 475 times
Download: 0 times
Share this document with a friend
Description:
 
Popular Tags:
39
1 Chapter 8 Understanding the MIS Organization plus an introduction to Extreme Programming Managing and Using Information Systems: A Strategic Approach, 2 nd ed.
Transcript
Page 1: Chapter 8

1

Chapter 8 Understanding the MIS Organization

plus an introduction to Extreme Programming

Managing and Using Information Systems: A Strategic Approach, 2nd ed.

Page 2: Chapter 8

2

Chief Information Officer (CIO)

• Gartner group definition of the CIO’s role:

“To provide technology vision and leadership for developing and implementing IT initiatives that create and maintain leadership for the enterprise in a constantly changing and intensely competitive marketplace.”

Page 3: Chapter 8

3

The CIO’s Responsibilities1. Championing the organization2. Architecture management3. Business strategy consultant4. Business technology planning5. Applications development6. IT infrastructure management7. Sourcing8. Partnership developer9. Technology transfer agent10. Customer satisfaction management 11. Training

12. Business Discontinuity/Disaster Recovery Planning

Page 4: Chapter 8

4

Nine Essential CIO Skills:1. Strong business orientation 2. Ability to realize benefits & manage costs and risks

associated with IT3. Ability to bridge gaps between available

technologies and business needs4. Familiarity with client’s needs5. Strong organizational skills6. Ability to conceive and build multiple IT projects7. Ability to articulate and advocate for a mgmt IT

vision8. Ability to mesh with existing mgmt structure9. Strategic enterprise vision extending beyond IT

Page 5: Chapter 8

5

Related Job Titles

• CKO: Chief Knowledge Officer

• CTO: Chief Technology Officer

• CTO: Chief Telecommunications Officer

• CNO: Chief Network Officer

• CRO: Chief Resource Officer

• Divisional CIOs/Corporate CIO

Page 6: Chapter 8

6Figure 8.1 The CIO’s lieutenants

Title Responsibility

Chief technology officer (CTO) Track emerging technologies

Advise on technology adoption

Design and manage IT architecture to insure consistency and compliance

Chief knowledge officer (CKO) Create knowledge management infrastructure

Build a knowledge culture

Make corporate knowledge pay off

Chief telecommunications officer (CTO)

Manage phones, networks, and other communications technology across entire enterprise

Chief network officer Build/maintain internal and external networks

Chief resource officer Manage outsourcing relationships

Chief information security officer Insures information management practices are consistent with security requirements

Chief privacy officer Responsible for processes and practices that insure privacy concerns of customers, employees and vendors are met

Page 7: Chapter 8

7

Other Information Systems Organizational Roles

• IS Managers• Systems Developers• Business Analysts• Database Administrators• Operations Personnel• Support Personnel• Developers• Webmaster, Web Designer, Web Developer, etc.

Page 8: Chapter 8

8

Figure 8.2 IS organization roles Job Title Job Description Job Description

IS Manager Implements strategy; leads systems implementation projects

Understands both business and technology

System Developer Writes new software applications; Upgrades and maintains existing systems

Programming abilities, cross-technology knowledge, etc

Business Analyst Translates business requirements into implementable IT solutions

Understands core business requirements

Database Administrator

Implements and maintains the software/hardware

Knowledge of database management systems, etc

Operations Personnel

Implements/maintains software and hardware needed

Knowledge of database management systems, etc

Support Personnel Run, monitor and maintain the production applications

Monitor and maintain hardware and software

Developer Help desk, project management and desktop services, etc

Skills vary depending upon role

Webmaster Responsible for all web activities Knowledge of web trends

Web Designer Designs interface for web pages Knowledge of interface design

Page 9: Chapter 8

9

Figure 8.3 Sample IS Organizational Chart

CIO

CKO CTO CNO

Other

IS ManagersGM

SystemDevs.

Bus.Analysts

DBAdmins.

SupportPersonnel

Page 10: Chapter 8

10

IS Organization Processes• Systems Development• Systems Maintenance• Data Center Operations• Information Management and Database

Administration • Internet Services and Web-based Systems

Development• Networking Services • New Technology Introduction • Resource Management • General Support

Page 11: Chapter 8

11

What to Expect from IS

• Anticipating New technologies

• Strategic Direction

• Process Innovation

• Internal Partnerships

• Supplier Management

• Architecture and Standards

• Human Resource Management

Page 12: Chapter 8

12

Anticipating New Technologies…

• Business and IS staff must work closely to evaluate which technologies can best advance the business strategy.

• It is the job of the IS department to scout new technology trends and help the business integrate them into planning and operations in terms of the following

Page 13: Chapter 8

13

• Strategic Direction• Process Innovation

• Supplier Management

• Architecture and Standards

• Business Continuity Planning

• Human Resource Management

• Most IS activities fall within the above categories, however, business managers can also anticipate the user management activities shown in the next slide

Steps in Anticipating New Technologies:

Page 14: Chapter 8

14

Page 15: Chapter 8

15

What IS doesn’t do…

• There is still a need for management to partner with IS to make sure business goals and needs are met.

• General managers generally set the business strategy, not IS professionals.

Page 16: Chapter 8

16

Outsourcing • Since the 1970s, IT managers have turned

to outsourcing as an important weapon in the battle to control costs.

• Outsourcing means the purchase of a good or service that was previously provided internally – with IT outsourcing an outside vendor provides IT services traditionally provided by the internal MIS department.

• Over the years, however, motives for outsourcing have changed.

Page 17: Chapter 8

17

Factors driving outsourcing 1. Cost savings2. Qualified IT staff are difficult to find and retain3. By bringing in outside expertise, management

needs to focus less on IS operations and more on the information itself.

4. Outsourcers are specialists, should understand how to manage IS staff more effectively.

5. Outsourcers may have larger IS resources that provide greater capacity on demand.

6. Outsourcing can help a company overcome inertia to consolidate data centers that could not be consolidated by an internal group, or following a merger or acquisition.

Page 18: Chapter 8

18

Figure 8.6 Drivers and disadvantages of outsourcing

Drivers Disadvantages Offer cost savings

Ease transition to new technologies

Offer better strategic focus

Provide better management of IS staff

Handle peaks

Consolidate data centers

Infuse cash

Abdication of control

High switching costs

Lack of tech. innovation

Loss of strategic advantage

Reliance on outsourcer

Problems with security/confidentiality

Evaporization of cost savings

Page 19: Chapter 8

19

Avoiding Outsourcing Pitfalls

• Don’t focus solely on price• Use life-cycle service contracts that occur in stages• Establish short-term supplier contracts• Use multiple, best of breed suppliers• Develop skills in contract management• Thoroughly evaluate outsourcers capabilities• Choose an outsourcer whose capabilities

complement yours.• Base choice on a cultural fit as well as expertise• Determine if outsourcing relationship produces a

net benefit for your company

Page 20: Chapter 8

20

Centralized vs. Decentralized Organizational Structures

• Centralized: reduces duplication since resources under one control and, often, in one location.

• Decentralized: creates flexibility because resources not in the same location or control

• “Federalism” combines centralization with decentralization.

• For example: – Bethlehem Steel allows major business units (plants) to

decentralize and operate independently while– Levi-Strauss centralized to minimize the duplication of

resources and save on costs.

Page 21: Chapter 8

21

Centralized vs. Decentralized Approaches

• Bethlehem Steel has taken a decentralized approach, which mirrors their decentralized business strategy as its managers believed that computing power and decision-making should be located within local business units

• Levi Strauss adopted a centralized strategy as it wanted to gain better control over strategic IT resources, minimize duplication across its business, and maximize sharing of scarce resources

Page 22: Chapter 8

22

How does the management of IT differ when

the scope is global, rather than local? • Large global MIS organizations face many of

the same organizational issues as any other global department.

• For IS, a number of issues arise that put the business at risk beyond the typical global considerations. Table 8.12 summarizes how a global IT perspective affects six information management issues.

Page 23: Chapter 8

23

Figure 8.12 Global Considerations for the MIS Organization Issue Global IT Perspective Example

Political Stability How risky is investment in a country with an unstable government ?

India, a country that faces conflict with Pakistan

Transparency Domestically, an IT network can be end-to-end with little effort compared to global networks

SAP-R3 can be used to support production processes but only if installed

Business Continuity Planning

When crossing borders, it is important to make sure that contingency plans are in place

Concern when crossing boarders is will data center be available when/if needed

Cultural Differences

IT systems must not offend or insult those of a different culture

Using images or artifacts may be insulting to another culture

Sourcing Some technologies cannot be exported or imported into specific countries

Exporting it to some countries, especially those who are not political allies is not possible

Data Flow across Borders

Data, especially private or personal data, is not allowed to cross some borders.

For example: Brazil

Page 24: Chapter 8

24

Going Offshore for IS Development • Countries such as India, the Philippines, etc, offer

“offshoring”, an alternative to in-house systems development

• Many Indian enterprises, for example, are well known for their use of the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) Level 5 software development processes, making them extremely reliable, and ultimately desirable as vendors

• The types of tasks that are outsourced are usually those that can be well-specified

• It raises the issue of what to send offshore, and what to keep within your enterprise MIS organization.

Page 25: Chapter 8

25

Offshoring Problems

Companies engaged in or considering offshoring express concern about …

• quality of the work performed,

• unexpected costs, and

• project delays

• future maintenance

• not developing skills in-house

Page 26: Chapter 8

26

and now for something completely different…

Extreme Programming

Page 27: Chapter 8

27

Extreme Programming (XP)

• A disciplined approach to software development

• Good for risky projects with dynamic requirements

• Emphasizes customer involvement and teamwork

• Deliver software to customer asap and implement changes as suggested

Page 28: Chapter 8

28

When to Use XP

• When customer does not have firm idea of requirements

• When functionality is expected to change in short-term

• When the time-line is compressed and risk is higher

Page 29: Chapter 8

29

The XP Approach

• Set up for small teams of programmers – between 2 and 12

• Cannot use XP on a project with a huge staff• Must be able to create automated unit and

functional tests• User stories• Paired-programming• Small releases

Page 30: Chapter 8

30

The XP Team

• Developers (work in pairs)

• Managers

• Customers

Page 31: Chapter 8

31

XP: User Stories

• Customers create stories to describe functionality needed

• Drive creation of acceptance tests for verification

• Developers estimate how long each story will take to implement

Page 32: Chapter 8

32

XP: Release Planning Meetings

• RPM used to create a release plan

• Release plan used to create iteration plans

• Project velocity = estimates of user stories completed in the last iteration

Page 33: Chapter 8

33

XP: Iteration Planning

• Each iteration is 1 – 3 weeks long• User stories are broken down into

programming tasks• Each task should be 1 – 3 days in duration• Use project velocity to determine if the

iteration is overbooked• Adds agility to the process

Page 34: Chapter 8

34

XP: Lessons Learned

• Customer is always available

• Move people around

• Avoid adding unnecessary functionality

• Follow coding standards

Page 35: Chapter 8

35

Network Security

• SSL – the Web standard

• SET – a consortia standard favored by financial institutions

• Digital signatures – provide authenticity

• Firewalls – come in different flavors

Page 36: Chapter 8

36

SSL

• Secure Sockets Layer, a protocol developed by Netscape for transmitting private documents via the Internet.

• SSL works by using a private key to encrypt data that's transferred over the SSL connection. Both Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer support SSL, and many Web sites use the protocol to obtain confidential user information, such as credit card numbers.

• By convention, URLs that require an SSL connection start with https: instead of http:.

• Supports non-repudiation for merchant only!

Page 37: Chapter 8

37

SET

• Secure Electronic Transaction, a standard that will enable secure credit card transactions on the Internet. SET has been endorsed by virtually all the major players in the electronic commerce arena, including Microsoft, Netscape, Visa, and Mastercard.

• By employing digital signatures, SET will enable merchants to verify that buyers are who they claim to be. And it will protect buyers by providing a mechanism for their credit card number to be transferred directly to the credit card issuer for verification and billing without the merchant being able to see the number.

• Supports non-repudiation for both buyer and merchant

Page 38: Chapter 8

38

Firewalls• Combine software and hardware• Normally between LANs and WANs• Can reside between LANs• May only check header information• May check content• Can take time to configure• Can slow down network• Can be assigned to one or multiple ports

Page 39: Chapter 8

39

END OF CHAPTER

8


Recommended