Buying Information Systems: Selecting, Implementing and Assessing Off-The-Shelf Systems

✍ Scribed by David James

• Year: 2004
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 144
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Most organizations purchase off-the-shelf, computer-based systems to help them perform their day-to-day business activities. Sadly, many of the purchases fail to live up to expectations. This book provides a "blueprint" of what to cover in the early stages of the procurement process so as to prevent the recurring problem of information systems projects that run over budget and over time, and yet under-perform. The questions the book answers are simple but fundamental: where to find advice, who should be involved, how to manage the purchase, how to decide what you need, which package or supplier to choose, how to manage the implementation and how to know if the system is successful. Real examples of information system purchases are used to help provide practical guidance on the methods, the pitfalls and the keys to success. In addition, the book contains several adaptable tables and checklists to provide a flexible and effective step-by-step framework for the entire process.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents......Page 6
List of Figures......Page 8
List of Tables and Checklists......Page 10
Case Study: ElectAM......Page 12
1 Buying an information system is like buying a desktop publishing package, isn’t it?......Page 20
The range of software products......Page 21
Configuring the software......Page 24
Software procurement......Page 25
Back to our question......Page 26
2 Where can I find advice?......Page 28
Information system implementation......Page 29
Information system success/failure......Page 30
ElectAM: Part 2......Page 31
Vendor selection......Page 33
Multiple views......Page 34
3 Who should be involved?......Page 36
Stakeholders......Page 37
Stakeholder expectations......Page 40
Management of expectations......Page 42
4 How do I manage the purchase?......Page 46
ElectAM: Part 3......Page 47
Case Study: PowerSound......Page 51
Organising to buy......Page 58
Managing team and contract......Page 62
Summary......Page 65
5 How do I decide what I need?......Page 68
What are you trying to achieve?......Page 69
What not to specify......Page 70
The User Requirements Specification (URS)......Page 73
How do the stakeholders fit into the process?......Page 77
How will you know that you have got what you want?......Page 78
ElectAM: Part 4......Page 80
The traditional approach to vendor selection......Page 81
Problems and considerations......Page 83
A risky business......Page 84
An alternative approach to selecting a vendor......Page 87
7 How do I manage the implementation?......Page 92
Case Study: CSM......Page 93
What we can learn from this, and other, case studies......Page 98
The management of expectations......Page 102
8 How do I know if the system is successful?......Page 106
What is success?......Page 107
Common measures of success......Page 108
Why established measures don’t work......Page 111
Expectations versus perceptions......Page 112
9 Putting it all together......Page 118
Manage the purchase......Page 120
Manage the implementation......Page 123
Celebrate or drown your sorrows......Page 126
E......Page 130
L......Page 131
S......Page 132
Y......Page 133
D......Page 134
I......Page 135
P......Page 136
S......Page 137
T......Page 138
Z......Page 139